IBA "Fullers Mill Garden-A Jewel in the Forrest" Book launch
…It is a chilly damp evening but thankfully it is not raining. Everything all around us is green and bright and lovely. From his treetop perch a Blackbird is shouting instructions and, with the help of Iceni Botanical Artists, Bernard Tickner’s garden steps confidently into the pages of a book:
“Fullers Mill Garden—A Jewel in the Forest”
After nearly three years of careful and dedicated work by twenty five IBA artists our amazing project is at last complete. Our members, along with guests and gardeners from Fullers Mill and representatives of the horticultural charity Perennial, gathered together for our book launch.
Most of us were seeing the finished book for the first time and it is stunning. A true work of art in itself. A good solid “Coffee Table” book, printed on silky smooth paper, thread-sewn with head and tail bands, and a marker ribbon. The pleasing font of the type script and the quality of the illustrations themselves, the general layout, and of course the highly professional text written by Rod Leeds, produced a beautiful volume. It is a fine tribute to Bernard Tickner’s vision, skill and dedication in designing a garden that has given, and will always give, such uplifting pleasure to all who come here to see it.
Bernard gifted the garden to Perennial for its future care. Perennial Vice President Jim Buttress, who was to have opened the event, was sadly unable to attend due to illness, and so we welcomed in his stead Perennial’s CEO, James Gault, who spoke about their support for our project and about the fine work the Charity does supporting those who work in the world of horticulture when they find themselves in need of help.
We also heard from Laura, who mentioned IBA’s list of painted plants, linking them with Bernard’s favourites, and spoke of their delight in having the garden represented in such a beautiful book and how it compliments the work they do in every way.
IBA’s President, Isobel Bartholomew, then thanked the Gardeners for “putting up with us constantly turning up and mooching about with our cameras, notebooks, rulers, pencils and paint boxes”. Isobel also spoke about the loss of our dear IBA member, Rob Dyke, who had passed away earlier in the year and the sadness we all felt that he wasn’t here with us to see and enjoy our “mission accomplished”. Rob contributed twenty artworks to the project.
As well as the speeches (accompanied throughout by said Blackbird) and a glass of something bubbly, there was also a small exhibition of twenty five paintings inside the Cottage, one painting from every artist who had worked on the project, and the pre-sale of our special Exhibition Catalogue. The painting display was a foretaste of our main exhibition at the Guildhall Bury St Edmunds from Saturday June 28th to Sunday July 12th of the 165 paintings completed for the project to illustrate Bernard Tickner’s beautiful achievement, that most certainly is “The Jewel in the Forest”
And from all my fellow artists and myself to our project manager, Tina Bone, and the committee, for all your hard work behind the scenes pulling this project together and for turning all our work into such a brilliantly beautiful book, a very big, warm, thank you.
Doreen Taylor
