With over 2,500 varieties produced in the Netherlands alone, tulips are one of the most popular flowers in the world. They also have a fascinating history, revered for their brightly coloured petals and utilised as a status symbol.
Join writer and journalist Daisy Garnett; specialist grower and tulip expert Polly Nicholson; garden designer Sean Pritchard, and photographer Britt Willoughby for an informative and inspiring discussion on the much-loved bulb. Here our experts will share tips and techniques on growing tulips - with recommendations of favourite types and combinations, thoughts on displaying, and an exploration of tulip depictions in art. This conversation is essential for all tulip lovers.
Included in the ticket price is a welcome refreshment. Following the talk there will be time for an audience Q&A and a book signing with Polly Nicholson and Sean Pritchard of their respective titles, The Tulip Garden: Growing and Collecting Species, Rare and Annual Varieties and Outside In: A Year of Growing and Displaying.
10-10.30am - Guest Arrival
10.30-11.30am - Talk
11.30am - Audience Q&A and Book Signing
*Talk only ticket (£15) includes access to the talk and a welcome refreshment
*Talk and lunch ticket (£35) includes access to the talk, welcome refreshment and a two-course lunch in the Ox Barn
Daisy Garnett
Daisy Garnett has been a writer and journalist for over twenty-five years, in both London and New York. As well as working as a gardener and editor, she writes the monthly Table Column for The World of Interiors magazine and teaches journalism at Central Saint Martins University. She lives in London with her husband and children.
Photo by Eva Nemeth
Polly Nicholson
Specialist flower grower and tulip expert, Polly Nicholson is the owner of Bayntun Flowers in Wiltshire – growers of organic flowers cultivated in walled gardens and a one-acre field at the foot of the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire. Nicholson holds the National Collection of Tulipa (Historic) with Plant Heritage, and has featured on BBC Gardener’s World, Radio 4, in Gardens Illustrated, Country Life, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, The World of Interiors, and House & Garden.
Sean Pritchard
Sean A Pritchard has a garden design studio based in London and Somerset. He came to his career in garden design after working in fine art and brand strategy. Before setting up his design practice, Sean graduated with Distinction from the Garden Design School in Bristol. Sean has designed two show gardens for Macmillan Cancer Support, including the Macmillan Legacy Garden at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. He divides his time between London and Somerset - where he lives in a 300-year-old farm labourer's cottage on the Mendip Hills, overlooking the Somerset Levels. He applies much of his philosophy to the decoration of the cottage, which he shares on his Instagram account, @sean_anthony_pritchard.
Britt Willoughby
Britt Willoughby is a professional garden photographer, capturing garden landscapes across the UK and abroad. Her photographs regularly feature in House & Garden, Country Life and Gardens Illustrated and her unique style has led to contributions to renowned publications including What Makes a Garden by Jinny Blom and The Gardens of Arne Maynard, by Arne Maynard. Upon relocating to the Cotswolds from London in 2012, she discovered her profound love for growing Historic Tulips, which have become the central focus of her studio work. More recently, Britt has been curating a ‘Platinum Print’ collection, working with Max Caffell at 31 Studio. The collection is called ‘Absorbed by the Beauty’ and the prints are the first of their kind. The printing process is historic in itself, a ceremony for each print which honours and celebrates this fascinating historic flower. ‘Absorbed by the Beauty’ will be exhibited at Thyme’s Tithe Barn from the 5th of September 2024 to the 31st of January 2025.