American Friends of Attingham's 2024 Fall Benefit Lecture

The American Friends of Attingham are pleased to announces details of our annual Fall Benefit Lecture, our only fundraising event of the year.

Join us as we welcome Troy Scott Smith, head gardener for Sissinghurst Castle, who will discuss the past, present and future of this quintessential English country garden. Heralded for its stunning beauty and diversity of species, the garden was born out of the creative tension between the exuberant plantings by horticultural heroine Vita Sackville-West and the structured designs of her husband, Harold Nicolson. In a gorgeous presentation not to be missed, Mr. Smith promises to inspire you with the restorative spirit of this tranquil landscape, which he describes as “lavish,generous, optimistic, and romantic to the extreme.”

Tickets: Individual tickets are $115 per person for the lecture and reception before October 4. For guests ages 35 and under, we are offering a special rate of $55.

Please purchase tickets online via Eventbrite. Alternatively, you may RSVP by calling 212-682-6840 and make your payment online via our website.

Virtual Tickets: For those unable to join us at The Explorers Club, but who would like to view the lecture online via livestream or rent the recording, tickets are $40 per person. The recording will be available for a limited 10-day rental period following the lecture, release date TBD. Virtual Tickets are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Sponsorship Opportunities: Lecture sponsors are essential to the success of this event. For information on sponsorships, which include a private, pre-lecture tour and dinner following the event with Mr. Smith, please contact [email protected] or call 212-682-6840. You can also visit our website. Those wishing to sponsor, but who prefer to watch online, will have access to a special "Virtual Sponsorship" at $1,000 (or more), fully tax-deductible to the extend allowed by law.

Meet Troy in this short film about Sissinghurst by the Natonal Trust. Image by National Trust.

Enjoy reading this May 2020 House and Garden article, "From the archive: Vita Sackville-West on her garden at Sissinghurst (1950)" which revisits a 1950 feature in which she writes about the garden's creation. Getty images.

Relax and transport yourself to Kent in June, as you watch this 15-minute garden walk, recorded in 2024. Featuring intermittent piano accompaniment overlaid upon the natural birdsong, crunch of gravel, and indistinct chatter of guests, this video captures the soothing and restorative power of Sissinghurst.

Event Venue

Explorers Club, 46 East 70th Street, New York, United States