Tim Richardson and I have been co-chairing these events since October 2007 – thanks to Christopher Woodward and the staff at the museum. Our book – Vista, the Culture and Politics of Gardens (pub. Frances Lincoln) was the original inspiration.
The basic idea is to provide a forum for people interested in intelligent conversation about gardens and landscapes to gather, listen and debate, and then sit down and wine and dine. We vary the format – so usually we have a short presentation by a guest followed by a discussion, and then on to questions from the audience. Tim and I have been dubbed "the John Bird and John Fortune of the garden world", so you gather we are not always completely serious.
Thanks to modern technology the evenings are now being podcast by Gardens Illustrated magazine.