Verdant Landscapes

Swarthmore Perennial Plant Conference, 2018 - a magical day in one of my favorite places, with many of my favorite people. and I found .dunnett having breakfast alone in our hotel, and we managed to join him. It was the beginning of far-too-brief conversations over the years. I introduced him at a Zoom meeting at our NYBG alumni group, and wrote another intro to give at Madoo in Manhattan but a snowstorm stopped me from delivering it. Here’s part of what I said:

“Nigel’s work, based out of Sheffield, England, incorporates designed plant communities by distilling ecological functions and making them legible and visually stunning. The psychological impact of immersing yourself in his gardens is quite the experience. The work provides a reciprocal restoration: of the ecological functions of the plantings, and of the human relationships to those communities.”

It’s been a week since news of his death has opened a flood of sorrow around the globe, highlighting the astonishing range of people he impacted. He wasted no time getting his message out in compelling ways. He changed the way we look at, and shape, the landscape, and for that I am forever grateful.

A late Day of the Drop.