Eric Evans Lecture 2024
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VRG’s Rose Gardens Highlighted in the Los Angeles Times
The Virginia Robinson Garden's Rose Garden was included in a list of seven rose gardens to visit in LA. 7 stunning L.A. gardens where you can stop and smell the roses (quite literally!) by Adam Markovitz includes a great write-up on our wonderful rose gardens! Read the article here.
Garden Designer Nancy Goslee Power Speaks at VRG
The word went out on our website that the famed garden designer Nancy Goslee Power was speaking at The Virginia Robinson Gardens on April 18, 2024! Her talk would focus on La Foce, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southwest Tuscany and Susan Rheinstein’s final garden in Montecito Garden which she lovingly designed. The famed California historian Kevin Starr once remarked, “Nancy Goslee Power is to landscape what Frank Gehry is to architecture.” The event sold out immediately!
Her talk began with the background of the fabled property of La Foce, which extends over the hills overlooking the Val d’Orcia, an enchanting and miraculously unspoiled valley in southern Tuscany, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.
A Walk in the Garden with Superintendent Diane Sipos
New feathered friends have moved in! Thanks to the generosity of Nicole Antoine Finton and her family, a brood of four chickens have moved into the hen house, joining the two other ladies (the last remaining from the original five). This breed of chickens - Silver Laced Wyandotte - is distinguished from the other two hens, with their beautiful golden feathers outlined with blue-grey tips and full feathered heads reminiscent of big, swooping hairstyles from the 1980s. Their full body plumage give them a regal air as they strut about in their new home. I extend a big thank you to Josh Johnston for coordinating their move to their new habitat. To ensure a smooth transition as each brood became acquainted, Josh separated the hens with a partition, creating two separate dwellings. Over a period of several weeks, he slowly introduced the hens to each other, and eventually removed the divider. The flocks now coexist peacefully, and the new group has happily settled into their new home. School children have delighted in seeing the chickens on recent field trips, and we look forward to more visitors getting to know them.
Spotlight on Connie Ching
From time to time, we spotlight a volunteer, staff member, docent, donor, or sponsor of the Virginia Robinson Gardens (VRG) -- those that have made an impact on the organization. We want to let you know about these wonderful people and corporations that give so much to The Virginia Robinson Gardens and to the community, and what they do that is so impactful.
This month, we spotlight Connie Ching, a wonderful and dedicated Friend of Robinson Gardens and Fellow Member. Connie generously offered a luncheon/dinner featuring Chinese cuisine for 10 people in her beautiful home and garden for the silent auction at Garden Tour.
Summary of Marc Appleton and Bret Parsons’ Presentation on Architect Paul Williams
For an intimately sized audience seated in the Billiard Room of the Virginia Robinsons’ Pool Pavilion on March 21, 2024, Marc Appleton and Bret Parsons presented a retrospective talk on the career of noted architect Paul R. Williams (1894-1980). They provided great depth and insight into the man and his astonishing career as an architect. Williams was the first black man accepted into the American Institute of Architecture. And who some 20 years into his career, obtained the pristine status as a “Fellow” in this organization.
A Contest for Hat Lovers!
Welcome all hat lovers to this fun event!
The second annual Hat Contest with prizes will be part of this year’s “Spring Rhapsody” Garden Tour festivities on May 18, 2024.
Every attendee can participate in the fun. Wear your hat on stage, and the judges will choose “winners” in three categories:
“Spring Rhapsody” Marketplace and Silent Auction Will Delight You!
During your blissful day of visiting gracious gardens, viewing floral fantasies, partaking of a sumptuous luncheon, and listening to magical music, you must join us at our tennis court Marketplace for some retail therapy. This year promises to excite with more than a dozen fresh and new vendors to stimulate your imagination. From food products and home gifts to estate jewelry, original artworks, and beautiful clothing there will be exceptional items for you to choose from! Visit many of your favorite vendors that have returned to tempt you with new offerings. Our FRIENDS BOUTIQUE is full of surprises this year too. Don’t miss it!
“George Cukor” and The Book Club at VRG
A very full complement of guests joined in the lively discussion at the Tea, Scones & Gardens Book Club on the book, George Cukor: a Double Life: A biography of the Gentleman Director on March 23, 2024, at The Virginia Robinson Gardens. We had a couple from as far away as Bakersfield! It was so interesting and informative to reflect upon the idiosyncratic Cukor. The book revealed so many aspects of his persona, including his unique directing style, especially as to women actresses, his interactions with the studio owners, his famous Sunday parties, and his personal relationships with his colleagues, friends, associates, and companions. Director Cukor was a guest at Virginia’s estate on several occasions. Wouldn’t it have been curious to be a spider on the wall!