The Garden History Detective
Garden Talks by Phil Broomfield
My fee is £70.00 + mileage expenses (from Bournemouth), payment will be taken on the day of the talk. I accept a cheque, cash or bank transfer.
Merton's Dream Garden: The Story of the Russell-Cotes Garden - Book Now
Phil has been Lead Garden Volunteer at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum in Bournemouth since 2020. His talk will cover the original design and layout of this cliff-top garden and how it has evolved, highlighting key features, with a spotlight on plants and showcasing how it looks through the seasons.
Architecturally Eccentric Follies & Grottoes (Spring 2025)
Phil has always been intrigued with follies and grottoes when visiting historic gardens and landscapes. This talk delves into the origins of these creations and showcases those that lie within Dorset and surrounding counties.
Thomas Hardy's Gardens: A study of Hardy's Cottage & Max Gate (Spring 2025)
In collaboration with the National Trust, the format of this lecture will cover the garden history at both sites, Hardy’s birthplace cottage at Higher Bockhampton and Max Gate, in Dorchester.
Highcliffe Castle: A Garden by the Sea (Spring 2025)
This lecture re-tells the story behind Lord Bute’s seaside retreat “High Cliff”, a miniature Kew, built in the mid 1770’s and the present day Highcliffe Castle, built by his grandson in the 1830’s and examines the historic landscape and grounds which overlook Christchurch Bay, and how they have evolved to become a public pleasure grounds today.
Parks: Past & Present - Upton Country Park & Poole Park (Autumn 2025)
One of a series of lectures focusing on Dorset’s parks. Set in 160 acres of beautiful award-winning gardens, open parkland, woodland and shoreline, with stunning Georgian Grade II listed Upton House as its centrepiece, Phil details its origins as a Regency home and how under the ownership of BCP Council, it is used today. Poole Park was the brainchild of Lord Wimborne who presented the land and salt-water lake project to create a ‘People’s Park and Recreation Ground’ to support the expansion of the wider Poole area in 1885. The park was formally opened in 1890 by the Prince of Wales and many of the original features and structural planting can still be seen today. Phil shares the story of this historic park, an area which covers 110 acres and showcases its uses over time.
Parks: Past & Present - Durlston Country Park (Autumn 2025)
Durlston’s coast forms part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, making it a superb outdoor classroom with over 340 acres to explore! Phil looks back over its history with a main focus on its time as a Victorian pleasure grounds under the ownership of George Burt and how things have developed since it became under the ownership of Dorset Council in 1973.
Brick by Brick: Dorset's Walled Gardens (Winter 2025)
This garden history lecture explores Walled Gardens and their uses over time. Phil details those in Dorset, including Edmondsham, Deans Court, Museum of East Dorset, Kingston Lacy and Upton House as well as those he has visited further afield.
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