2010 Spencer Lecture

Gordon Hayward
Fine Painting as Inspiration for Garden Design

Thursday, March 11

6:30 p.m.

Linn-Henley Lecture Hall

Please call Shelly McCarty at 205.414.3965 to reserve your FREE ticket to the 2010 Spencer Lecture.

The 11th Annual Virginia Beeland Spencer Lecture brings renowned designer and author Gordan Hayward to Birmingham all the way from Putney, Vermont. Some of Mr. Hayward's most notable work includes more than 25 years as a contributor to Horticulture Magazine as well as 10 books about garden design, including the two award-winning books Your House, Your Garden (WW Norton, 2003) and Small Buildings, Small Gardens (Gibbs Smith, 2007). He and his wife, Mary, live in a 220 year old home in southern Vermont, where they have spent the last 20-plus years developing their own garden – which he will incorporate into the lecture!

His lecture, "Fine Painting as Inspiration for Garden Design," is based on his most recent book, Art and the Gardener (Gibbs Smith, 2008). During the hour, Mr. Hayward will explain how garden design and paintings are constructed in similar ways, bringing depth, light, contrast, framing, focal points, texture, and form into the conversation. Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse and Monet collide with garden design in a unique and enlightening way that will inspire everyone from artist to designer to gardening novice.

For more information about Gordon Hayward, go to www.haywardgardens.com.

About the Virginia Beeland Spencer Lecture Series

The annual lecture is made possible by Mr. & Mrs. William M. Spencer, III ,pictured at the top of the page, through the Virginia Beeland Spencer Lecture Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. Virginia is known for her knowledge and passion for flowers, flower arranging, and gardening. By bringing prominent speakers to Birmingham, the Spencer Lecture Series provides an opportunity to the public to learn more about gardening, flower arranging, horticulture and conservation.