New Lecture Topic

A Message From Allyson:

I have taken this opportunity during the pandemic to research and write on a new topic. My newest lecture, The Ladies of the Club, is a 40-minute PowerPoint presentation to be presented via Zoom. It is the story of a small group of talented women who formed the Garden Club of America and the Woman’s National Farm and Garden Association. The lecture focuses on the influences these women had on others in their local communities and across the nation. The lecture is informative with interesting tie-ins to the 1918 flu pandemic, the Garden Club of America, Women’s Suffrage Movement, and victory gardening for the soul. The inspiring women featured in the lecture are Elizabeth Price Martin, Clara Ford (Henry Ford’s wife), Helena Rutherfurd Ely, and Louisa Yeomans King. They were women of vision and integrity who believed in the inherent right of women to live equally with men. They showed a pioneering spirit and a flare for collaborative action. They were an example of the power of commitment to social good and the importance of fostering friendships made through our gardening experiences.

Click here to Schedule a Lecture

Upcoming Lectures

⦁ Garden Club of Santa Barbara, CA
⦁ The Stamford Garden Club, CT
⦁ The Seattle Garden Club, WA
⦁ The Portland Garden Club, OR
⦁ Garden Club of Somerset Hills, NJ
⦁ Bedford Garden Club, NY
⦁ Chestnut Hill Garden Club, MA
⦁ Brookline Garden Club, MA
⦁ Tacoma Garden Club, WA
⦁ The Little Town Club, CA

Recent Lecture Topics

• The Ladies of the Club
• Norah Lindsay: The Life and Art of a Garden Designer
• Women – Literature – Landscape Design: A Celebration of Garden Writing
• Women – Literature – Landscape Design: American Women Garden Designers and Their Writings
• Hats Off To the Women Who Made Our History: The History of the New England Farm and Garden Association
• The Gardens of Italy
• The Hunnewell Family at Wellesley: Patronage and the American Garden
• The Hunnewell Pinetum
• The Hunnewell Estates Historic District
• The Hunnewell’s Connection to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society
• The History of the Massachusetts Agricultural Club
• Elm Park at a Crossroads in Wellesley

Past Venues

• The Garden History Society and the Architectural Association Joint Study Day, London, UK
• The National Trust – Chirk Castle, Wales, United Kingdom
• The National Trust – Mottisfont Abbey, Hampshire, United Kingdom
• Kelmarsh Hall, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
• Garden Club of Santa Barbara at the Santa Barbara Art Museum, CA
• The Little Town Club, Santa Barbara, CA
• Royal Oak Foundation – Beverly Hills Women’s Club, CA
• Royal Oak Foundation – Friends of Virginia Robinson Gardens, Beverly Hills, CA
• Royal Oak Foundation – Filoli, CA
• Beverly Hills Garden Club and Bel Air Garden Club at Greystone Mansion and Park, CA
• Decorative Arts Society of Newport Beach, Newport Beach, CA
• Royal Oak Foundation – The Garden Education Center of Greenwich, Cos Cob, CT
• Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT
• Connecticut Valley Garden Club, CT
• Garden Club of Hartford. CT
• New Canaan Garden Club, CT
• Hortulus Garden Club, Greenwich, CT
• Garden Club of Darien, CT
• Royal Oak Foundation – Winterthur Museum, DE
• Edith Wharton Estate and Gardens, The Mount, Lenox, MA
• New England Landscape Design and History Association, Radcliffe Institute, MA
• Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts District Meeting, MA
• Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Boston, MA
• New England Farm and Garden Association, Inc., MA
• The Chilton Club, MA
• Junior League of Boston, MA
• Tau Beta Beta Scholarship Organization, MA
• Woman’s National Farm and Garden Association, Inc., MA
• Mayflower Farm and Garden, Inc., MA
• Noanett Garden Club, MA
• Foxhill Garden Club, MA 
• Milton Garden Club, MA
• Harvard Garden Club, MA
• Thursday Garden Club of Sudbury, MA
• Osterville Garden Club, MA
• Charles River Valley Garden Club, MA
• Bedford Garden Club, MA
• Acton Garden Club, MA
• Chestnut Hill Garden Club, MA
• North Shore Garden Club, MA
• Cohasset Garden Club, MA
• Manchester Garden Club, MA
• Brookline Garden Club, MA
• Wellesley Garden Club, MA
• Sudbury Garden Club, MA
• Hills Garden Club of Wellesley. MA
• Garden Club of Buzzards Bay and Little Compton Garden Club, MA
• Evening Garden Club of Plymouth, MA
• Cape Ann Garden Club, Gloucester, MA
• Beacon Hill Garden Club, MA
• Cohasset Garden Club, Cohasset, MA
• Beatrix Farrand Society, Mt. Desert, ME
• Monadnock Garden Club, NH
• Plainfield Garden Club and the New Jersey Garden Club of America Committee, NJ
• Royal Oak Foundation – The Grolier Club, NY
• Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons, Bridgehampton, NY
• Syracuse Garden Club, NY
• Akron Garden Club, Akron, OH
• Mystic Garden Club, RI

Schedule A Lecture

Allyson is included in the Garden Club of America’s Garden Club Speakers List.
Her specialty is Garden History Lectures.

Due to the challenges presented to us in this time of Covid, Allyson is booking only Zoom lectures during the upcoming months through November 2021. Allyson’s Zoom lecture fee is $500. To schedule a lecture, please contact Allyson: