At the personal invitation of Past Master Paul Rochford of
the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, I attended their PHS Lecture held at the
Garden Museum on Lambeth Bridge. The Garden Museum was founded in 1977 in order
to rescue the abandoned church of St Mary’s at Lambeth, which was due for
demolition. The church is the burial place of John Tradescant (c1570 – 1638),
the first great gardener and plant-hunter in British history. His magnificent and
enigmatic tomb is the centrepiece of the Sackler Garden, designed to reflect
Tradescant’s life and spirit. It is certainly a very impressive building.
The Philadelphia Horticultural Society (PHS) is the oldest
horticultural society in the world, second only to the RHS in the UK and was
founded in 1827. Since then it has established itself as the leading light in
the US and overseas and has an enviable reputation for greening the city of
Philadelphia and the wider state of Pennsylvania.
After a brief introduction by the Museum Director
Christopher Woodward, the principle speaker Matt Rader, BA, MBA took to the
stage. Matt is the 37th President of the PHS and has spent a
lifetime in the world of horticulture and charitable organisations. He
described in very honest detail some of the challenges the city faces with
their large tracts of urban decline, chronic crime and depravation and the
impact this has on the population. However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom –
there are some incredible success stories. Local volunteers and the City
Authorities all recognise the need for ‘green lungs’ and the beneficial effect
they have in improving life and wellbeing. Matt went through a range of
initiatives - some small, some large scale – and the impact they have had. It was
very much a good news story.
My take away was that the City Authorities want to help and do
all they can in terms of resources, albeit limited. They seem to run towards
the problem rather than away from it. If only that were true in the UK…
After an interesting Q&A session from the floor there
was just time to quickly visit the Museum itself. Well worth a visit if in the
area.
So, thank you to the Gardeners Company and to Matt for a
most insightful evening and in such a lovely setting.
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