This is the second program in the Great Homes and Gardens lecture series.

Teresa Speight, author of Black Flora, a new book about African Americans in the world of floriculture, tells the stories of farmers, florists, and other floral creatives who answered the call of the flowers, tapped into their passion, and listened to their hearts. There is a rich, beautiful, complex, and diverse narrative being told by African Americans and other persons of color in the floral marketplace. It is long past time to recognize their excellence and contributions to cut-flower farming and floristry, as they sow the seeds for the next generation.

HYBRID PROGRAM

This lecture will be presented in the theater in the Ellen MacNeille Charles Visitor Center and will be livestreamed via Zoom. Visitors can submit questions for the speaker from any location.

Click here to see how Hillwood is following the latest health and safety guidance.

IN-PERSON TIMELINE

5:30-6:30 p.m. | Explore Hillwood
•    Enjoy Hillwood’s mansion, gardens, and greenhouse
•    Find the perfect memento from your visit at the museum shop
•    Receive a 10% discount in the museum store on regularly priced merchandise when you attend the lecture in-person! This offer extends only to those individuals attending in person on the day of the event and does not include online or telephone purchases.
•    Members will also receive an extra 10% off regularly priced merchandise when they attend in person on the day of the event. This offer does not extend to online or telephone purchases.
•    Enjoy and coffee and tea tasting with Blue's Coffee & Tea Co, hosted by the museum shop, from 3-6:30 p.m.
6-6:30 p.m. | Members-only wine and cheese reception. Join today!
6:30-7:30 p.m. | Lecture

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Author, podcaster, and garden writer Teresa J. Speight is a proud native of Washington, D.C., as well as a mother, grandmother, garden writer, and history lover. With ancestral sharecropping roots originating in North and South Carolina, she feels deeply connected with the earth. She’s honored those roots through her work as head gardener for the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia; as a founding farmer of an organic CSA farm; as founder and president of Jabali Amani Garden Collective, an online African American garden club focusing on beautifying urban areas in our communities; and as an estate gardener. Teresa also works to reconnect people with the soil through one-on-one garden coaching and by offering curated garden experiences for small groups.

Teresa is the author of Black Flora: Profiles of Inspiring Black Flower Farmers + Florists and co-author of The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City. On her podcast Cottage in the Court, Teresa introduces interesting people, discovers unique places, and adds a little poetry to remind everyone to embrace the garden, as it is here for us.

ABOUT THE GREAT HOMES AND GARDENS LECTURE SERIES

Escape February’s dreariness and immerse yourself in the stories of extraordinary homes, lush gardens, and the people who brought them to life, in this four-part lecture series.

Visitors can attend and ask questions whether they choose to come in person or join the livestream from the comfort of home; questions will be taken from all locations.

Thursday, February 9: America’s Eden: Newport Landscapes through the Ages with John Tschirch
Wednesday, February 15: Black Flora: Profiles of Inspiring Black Flower Farmers + Florists with Teri Speight
Tuesday, February 21: More is More is More: Today’s Maximalist Interiors with Carl Dellatore
Thursday, March 2: The Elegant Life: Rooms That Welcome and Inspire with Alex Papachristidis