Registration is now open for the 2019 Southern Garden Symposium, taking place October 18 & 19 in St. Francisville, Louisiana. Celebrating our 31st year with renowned speakers offering a diverse program sure to ignite every gardener’s passion. Featured speakers include: Christopher Woods, Nicholas Staddon, Staci Catron, and a screening of the award-winning film, “Five Seasons – The Gardens of Piet Oudolf” by Thomas Piper.

While working on his documentary on New York’s High Line, award winning filmmaker Thomas Piper met Piet Oudolf, the High Line’s designer.

Piper’s resulting film highlights the gardens of Oudolf, the influential Dutch garden designer, plantsman, and author.

In the movie, Rick Darke, botanist and former SGS speaker, tells Mr. Oudolf, “your work teaches us to see what we have been unable to see.”

Piet Oudolf is a leading figure of the “New Perennial” movement with his designs and plant compositions using bold drifts of herbaceous perennials and g rasses which are chosen at least as much for their structure as for their flower color.

Stacey Pfingsten, Executive Director of the Louisiana Architectural Foundation, will introduce the film Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf in a workshop setting on Friday, October 18, at 1:30 p.m.

We will continue focus on the works of Piet Oudolf in Saturday’s Symposium – in his presentation Where Art Meets Nature, Patchwork Perfection, Nicholas Staddon will explain the extraordinary impact designer Piet Oudolf has had on today’s landscape.

We are pleased to offer the viewing of Five Seasons in only its 2nd airing, a truly memorable and uniquely informative opportunity for our SGS guests.

See www.southerngardensymposium.org for complete details.