The Contemporary Garden at Gravetye Manor
Talk & Lunch on Wednesday 12th November 2025
Join Sorrel Everton, former Deputy Editor of Gardens Illustrated, and acclaimed garden designer Annie Guilfoyle for a talk and lunch at Gravetye Manor, the country house hotel and former home of celebrated garden designer William Robinson, as they introduce The Contemporary Garden, Phaidon’s newest publication and a vibrant showcase of the most innovative gardens of our time.
This beautifully curated volume showcases the work of internationally renowned designers such as Piet Oudolf and Sarah Price, alongside pioneering studios including Terremoto and Reed Hilderbrand. From striking rooftop gardens to sweeping wildflower meadows, the book captures the creativity and enduring allure of contemporary garden making.
The Contemporary Garden spans over three decades, charting horticultural, architectural, and artistic ingenuity from the late 1990s to today. The selection was overseen by Sorrel and Phaidon commissioning editor Victoria Clarke, and reviewed by an international panel of experts, including Richard Aitken, Michael McCoy, Paul B. Redman, and Annie Guilfoyle, who also contributes an inspiring introduction, reflecting on how gardens have evolved over the past thirty years and the profound ways green spaces shape our lives.
Guests are invited to arrive at Gravetye Manor at 10.30am for tea and coffee, before the talk begins at 11.00am. A three-course lunch, cooked by Gravetye Manor’s Executive Chef Martin Carabott, will follow at midday, served at shared tables in the glass-fronted dining room, overlooking the gardens.
Tickets are £170 per person and includes tea or coffee on arrival, the talk, a three-course lunch with drinks, and a copy of The Contemporary Garden.
More information and reservation link here
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Notes to editors:
Gravetye Manor is a hotel and restaurant with four Red Stars, four Rosettes, Two Michelin Keys and One Michelin Star, in West Sussex on the Kent/Surrey/Sussex borders.
Gravetye Manor, an Elizabethan manor house hotel and Michelin starred restaurant in West Sussex looks out over 35 acres of stunning world-renowned gardens, walled kitchen garden, orchard, glasshouses and Peach House set within a further 1000 acres of woodland. Originally created by visionary gardener William Robinson in 1885, Gravetye Manor’s gardens are considered amongst the most influential in horticultural history and one of the most important historic gardens in England. Robinson’s preference for the ‘wild garden’, mixed herbaceous borders and hardy perennial planting broke with the formal Victorian style of the day, and his radical approach remains as popular as ever with gardeners today.
Continuing Robinson’s legacy is Gravetye Manor’s Head Gardener, Tom Coward, ensuring every tree, shrub and flower is lovingly cared for while retaining the spirit of Robinson’s original plan and thinking for the space.
Address: Gravetye Manor, Vowels Lane, West Hoathly, Sussex, RH19 4LJ
Tel: 01342 810567
Website: www.gravetyemanor.co.uk
Instagram: @gravetyemanor