Talbot County Garden Club invites you to its Wednesday, March 25 free public lecture at the Talbot County Free Library (Easton). At the 11 am event, KIRK R. BROWN, garden historian, designer and consultant, will regale us with an entertaining and insightful dose of botanical history in “John Bartram Lives.”
While assuming the persona of JOHN BARTRAM, our guest speaker will introduce the “Father of American Botany,” North America’s first and foremost horticulturist and plant collector.
An associate of Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Carl Linnaeus, Bartram (1699-1777) is credited with introducing more than 200 American native plants to the international trade, most via seed exchange. He wrote the American Appendix to the British Pharmacopeia that remained in use until 1950.
Bartram’s humor, passion and achievements – portrayed by our speaker – should inspire us with hope for the future of the earth and its inhabitants.
Personally, Kirk Brown has won several garden design and achievement awards. He is past president of GardenComm (Garden Communicators International) and former national outreach coordinator for Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, America’s oldest garden in Charleston, SC. More recently, he has served as judge for America in Bloom and lecturer for National Garden Club’s Design, Environmental Studies and Garden Schools. On his national lecture tours, he covers other garden titans, including Frederick Law Olmstead and Henry Muhlenberg.
The garden club’s 2026 Winter Lecture Series continues. Mark your calendar…
Tuesday, April 28
CECE HAYDOCK, Landscape Architect
“Edith Wharton and the Villas of Rome”
About the Talbot County Garden Club
The Talbot County Garden Club is known for its “good and green works” that benefit the Talbot County community. The club was established in 1917 to enhance the natural beauty of the local environment by sharing knowledge of gardening, designing and maintaining civic gardens, supporting civic greening projects, encouraging the conservation of natural resources, and fostering the art of flower arranging. Noteworthy projects include grounds maintenance at the Talbot Historical Society, Talbot County Free Library (Easton), and the Fountain and Children’s Gardens in Idlewild Park; greenery installations for Easton’s Rails-to-Trails, U.S. Post Office and Christ Church; plus an ever-growing number of horticultural outreach activities. There are currently 115 active, associate and honorary members.
