The Last Garden in England By Julia Kelly - Book Discussion.  This event is co-sponsored by Longwood Garden Community Reads. Attend and enter to win a Longwood Garden pass for 4.

The Last Garden in England exemplifies the meaning that we can all find in gardens. Just as Longwood Gardens has brought beauty to the lives of generations, so too does Highbury House—whose lovely gardens are at the center of this historical fiction spanning three generations. Taking place in 1907, 1944, and present day, this novel connects five women—from the gardens’ original designer through to the modern-day designer charged with restoring their beauty—all of whom find true meaning and solace in the gardens.

Author Julia Kelly took inspiration for the book from a visit to Upton House in Warwickshire, England. Upton’s gardens were designed by Kitty Lloyd Jones, hired by wealthy homeowners to “lend a sense of good taste” to their grand homes’ gardens. Lloyd Jones and famous British garden designer Gertrude Jekyll gave inspiration to the character of Venetia Smith, hired to design Highbury’s garden in the novel. Venetia visits the real-life Hidcote Manor in the novel, whose garden rooms designed by owner Lawrence Johnston inspired Kelly to create garden rooms at Highbury House.