Art of the Garden: Dan Pearson, The Garden as Vision

Dan Pearson is one of today’s most influential garden and landscape designers, known for his painterly naturalistic perennial planting, with work ranging from private gardens around the world to the 240-hectare Tokachi Millennium Forest Garden in northern Japan. In this talk, he will discuss the ever-increasing inspiration and influence the landscape has had on his designs, as well as his latest project with Thomas Heatherwick – the proposed Garden Bridge traversing the Thames between the Strand and the South Bank, which is exciting much interest across the world. Having trained at the RHS Garden, Wisley and Kew Gardens, Pearson began his career as a designer in 1987. He has been gardening columnist for The Observer magazine since 2006 and has shown five gardens for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. He has also designed the Maggie’s Centre garden at Charing Cross hospital in west London. In 2011 he was elected an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, is a Royal Designer for Industry and was a member of the jury for the 2011 RIBA Stirling Prize. Last year, the Garden Museum in Lambeth, south London, held an exhibition of his work. Art of the Garden is a celebratory programme that will explore the relationship between gardening, art and the landscape. This autumn and winter, to celebrate the opening of Oudolf Field, a perennial meadow designed by Piet Oudolf, Hauser & Wirth Somerset has invited leading lights in the fields of landscape and garden design, art and sculpture, literature and photography to talk about their work. This event has now sold out. Art of the Garden is curated by Caroline Donald, Garden Editor of the Sunday Times Image: ARUP