Each gardener is inspired by something: creating beauty, connecting with nature, cultivating life. This year’s Garden Symposium focuses on the power of gardening and what inspires us to create, connect, and cultivate.

In the 18th century, people viewed gardens as artistic creations equal in importance to poetry and painting.  While most people who appreciate creating or exploring gardens today do not often refer to them as Art, these spaces are palettes that can communicate and inspire in much the same way as traditional art.   Like other art, the process of making gardens requires learned and practiced skills in composition, techniques, and materials.  Not to mention inspiration!

Jenks Farmer is a plantsman, horticulturist, designer, and storyteller who transformed his family’s hay farm into a crinum lily farm. Farmer has spent his life studying nature and plant sciences, sharing his knowledge, and inspiring others about their own gardens. His work on the science of crinum lilies has been published in scientific journals, and main-stream magazines. Join Farmer at the 2019 Garden Symposium to hear about his gardening journey and renew your inspiration.

The 17th Annual Goodwood Garden Symposium will be held 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, at the Carriage House at Goodwood Museum & Gardens. Tickets are $35 and include lunch. Books and bulbs will be available for purchase.