Celebrating "Martha's Flowers" for Telfair Museums
My book, “Martha’s Flowers: A Practical Guide to Growing, Gathering, and Enjoying” continues to inspire and inform all those who flip through its pages. If you’re still looking for a great Mother’s Day gift, get a copy of this book - it’s filled with so many beautiful photographs and tips for making the most of all the gorgeous, colorful flowers that are blooming right now!
Not long ago, Kevin Sharkey and I traveled to Savannah, Georgia to speak at an event benefitting the Telfair Museums - the oldest public art museum in the South comprised of three unique buildings and three distinct collections that bridge three different centuries of art and architecture in the area. More than 500-guests attended our interview and discussion at The Historic Savannah Theater. We also conducted a book signing and joined a group of 200 for a lovely luncheon at the nearby Perry Lane Hotel.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
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- Telfair Museums was founded in 1883 through the bequest of prominent local philanthropist Mary Telfair, who left her home and its furnishings to the Georgia Historical Society to be opened as a museum.
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- The home, now called Telfair Academy, houses 19th and 20th century American and European art from the museum’s permanent collection including paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and decorative works.
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- Telfair Museums is also home to Sylvia Shaw Judson’s famous Savannah Bird Girl statue. It’s cast in bronze and stands 50-inches tall and shows a young girl wearing a simple dress and a contemplative expression, holding up two bowls, or “bird feeders”. The statue became famous when it was featured on the cover of the non-fiction novel “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” by John Berendt.
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- The Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters contains a decorative art collection composed primarily of Owens family furnishings, along with American and European objects dating from 1750 to 1830.
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- The Owens-Thomas House was originally built as a beautiful Regency style mansion in 1819.
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- This is the parterre garden located behind the Owens-Thomas House.
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- Additionally, the site includes intact urban slave quarters, where visitors are able to learn about the relationships between the most and least powerful people in the city of Savannah in the early 19th century.
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- The third building is called the Jepson Center, which is meant to link the history preserved by the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters and Telfair Academy to the future of art and architecture. It was opened to the public in 2006.
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- Our first stop was a luncheon at the Perry Lane Hotel also located in Savannah’s historic district.
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- On the menu: a chilled melon gazpacho, roast sea bass with fennel salad, salsa verde, farm fresh greens, and a collection of bite-sized dessert pastries.
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- Everyone at the luncheon was given a complimentary copy of “Martha’s Flowers”.
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- Each table was dressed with beautiful seasonal flowers, such as these creamy white tulips.
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- The room was filled – every ticket sold. Kevin and I had a wonderful time talking about the book with those at our table.
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- Here is my bowl of melon gazpacho. It was very refreshing on this warm Georgia day – temperatures were in the high 80s.
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- Kay Reagan and floral designer, John Davis, stopped for a quick photo.
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- Here are more of the guests enjoying their lunch.
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- These are some of the tarts that were served for dessert.
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- After lunch, everyone moved to the hotel’s terrace for the book signing. More “Martha’s Flowers” books were on sale for those who wanted additional copies to be signed.
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- Here I am with Karen and Ted Kleisner. Ted is Chairman of Telfair Museums’ Board of Trustees.
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- Our lecture was held at The Historic Savannah Theater, which first opened its doors on December 4th, 1818, making it one of the United States’ oldest continually-operating theaters.
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- Savannah news anchor, Cyreia Sandlin, moderated our discussion. We talked about the book and my passion for gardening. Here you can see a slide above showing a drone shot of my peony garden at my Bedford, New York farm. It was a successful event and a delightful day in Savannah. If you’re ever in the area, please visit Telfair Museums.
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