THE STORY OF

Beth Chatto OBE

Beth Chatto was born in 1923 to enthusiastic gardening parents. After working as a teacher she married the late Andrew Chatto in 1943. His lifelong interest in the origins of plants influenced the development of the Gardens and our use of plants to this day.

Following Andrew’s retirement, in 1960 the Chatto family built their new home on a wasteland that had been part of the Chatto fruit farm. The site presented many difficulties for starting a garden including low annual rainfall. It was to Andrew’s plant research that they turned.

Beth Chatto OBE

Informed by his knowledge Beth selected plants for a series of Gardens that could thrive under the different conditions. Through gifts of seeds and cuttings a large collection of unusual plants and a good knowledge of propagation was acquired. Since the late fifties Beth Chatto had become involved in the Flower Club movement, lecturing, opening new clubs and demonstrating flower arranging. By 1967 the Flower Club members were an enthusiastic audience for unusual plants. Requests for catalogues followed and from a small hand typed sheet a mail order business and plant nursery was born.

In January 1975 “Unusual Plants” exhibited at the RHS Hall, Westminster, winning a Silver Medal and gaining the first press coverage. From 1977 Beth Chatto and her stand of “Unusual Plants” went on to win ten consecutive Gold Medals at RHS Chelsea. Beth Chatto’s first book, The Dry Garden, was published in 1978. She went on to publish eight books, lectured around the world and wrote articles for magazines, newspapers and online. Beth Chatto was able to get out into her beloved gardens fairly regularly on her electric scooter, chatting with staff and visitors, sharing her deep love and profound knowledge of planting, right up until she passed away on May 13th 2018.

BETH'S JOURNEY STARTS
1923...
1923
Born Good Easter, Essex
1960
The Beth Chatto Gardens begins
1967
The Beth Chatto Gardens nursery begins
1977-87
Awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society Ten Gold Medals for ten consecutive exhibits at Chelsea Flower Show.
1978
The Dry Garden is published
1982
The Damp Garden is published
1983
Beth Chatto participates in lecture tour of America
1984
Beth Chatto participates in lecture tour of British Columbia, Canada and North West States of America
1985
Plant Portraits is published
1986
Beth Chatto lectures in America
1987
Awarded the Lawrence Memorial Medal
Awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour,
Awarded Honorary Degree by the University of Essex.
Beth Chatto participates in lecture tours of Holland and Germany.
1988
The Beth Chatto Garden Notebook is published
1989
Beth Chatto lectures in Canada and Australia.
The Green Tapestry is published.
1990
Beth Chatto lectures in Paris
1992
The Gravel Garden was planted
1995
Selected to the International Professional and Business Women’s Hall of Fame for outstanding achievements in introducing plantecology to garden design.
1998
Presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Garden Writer’s Guild.
Dear Friend and Gardener is publishedwith Christopher Lloyd.
2000
Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden is published
2002
Awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours.
2002
Beth Chatto’s Woodland Garden is published.
2004
The Damp Garden (new edition) is published
2008
Retrospective exhibition on career of Beth Chatto held at The Garden Museum, London
2009
Awarded honorary doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University
2010
The Beth Chatto Gardens celebrates fifty years
2011
Named a Paul Harris Fellow by Colchester Trinity Rotary Club
2014
Awarded the Society of Garden Design's John Brookes Lifetime Achievement Award.
2015
The Beth Chatto Education Trust Charity launched
2018
Beth passed away aged 94 on 13th May 2018. Memorial held at the Garden Museum, London
2019
Beth Chatto is named RHS Iconic Horticultural Hero 2019
2020
Beth Chatto's Plants & Gardens is listed by Historic England, formerly part of English Heritage, confirming and establishing its significance as a post-war landscape.
2020
The Beth Chatto Gardens celebrates sixty years
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