March forth into spring this month with our selection of refreshingly different things to do around the UK. We’re highlighting gardens, art, craft and a blast of bling.
TO DO
A blooming good time: embracing the new season, Petersham Nurseries is staying true to its ethos with a series of urban green workshops in Covent Garden. Each one is rooted in sustainability and respect for the environment, and its team will use British-grown flowers, foliage and produce. The workshops will range from how to plant spring-bulb arrangements to ways of creating herbal planters to harvest and use in the kitchen. Kickstarting the series on 10 March will be the Mother’s Day Bouquet masterclass, led by Petersham’s head of floristry, Therese Johansson. Expect wild and dramatic arrangements. Details: petershamnurseries.com
Back again for its 20th anniversary, Collect Fair takes up residence in Somerset House. As the first international jamboree dedicated to contemporary craft and design, Collect has been providing a platform for emerging and established artists and makers for 20 years. This year almost 40 specialist galleries from across the globe will represent over 400 artist/makers, each one selected by a specialist advisory panel. Alongside the fair will run a programme of engaging talks, including Space for Innovation in Contemporary Craft, hosted by the Loewe Foundation. Details: collectfair.org.uk
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As the seasons shift and daffodils begin to emerge, we can once again enjoy the fruits of nature without fear of frostbite. From 28 March, the kitchen garden at Chiswick House will be open to visitors free of charge. The walled garden will be bursting with narcissus and tulips, and visitors are invited to indulge in a sensory experience, sampling edible flowers, harvesting leaves for infusions and many more seasonal opportunities. The kitchen garden has been thriving since the mid-17th century and still operates as a community space, offering an abundance of fruit, vegetables and cut flowers for both sale and donation. Last year, working to address food poverty, it donated over a tonne of fresh produce to local organisations such as the Felix Project and Surplus to Supper. Details: chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk
TO SEE
Chatsworth’s new exhibition, Picturing Childhood: A New Perspective at Chatsworth, delves into the multifaceted versions of infancy and youth in art from Tudor times to the present day. The show will include rarely seen masterpieces from the Devonshire Collections as well as works by artists including Raphael, Anthony van Dyck, Edwin Landseer and Lucian Freud. They will be installed throughout the house in places such as the chapel, the State Apartment and the Oak Room. Details: chatsworth.org
TO BUY
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Anthony Gardner and his civil partner, Michael Becker, started the Purple Shop on King’s Road in the 1960s, and it became a hub for local designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Zandra Rhodes and Mary Quant. With a roster of clients that included the likes of Princess Margaret and Barbra Streisand, the couple specialised in costume jewellery and luxury Art Nouveau antiques, and their designs were regularly seen on catwalks across Europe and in glossy fashion magazines. This April Bellmans will offer up Anthony Gardner’s collection for auction. As well as items from his private collection of jewellery, including examples by Cartier, Liberty & Co and Fabergé, you’ll find silver, ceramics, glassware, paintings, furniture, books and works of art. Among them are works by Lalique, Chiparus, Liberty, Omar Ramsden and Tiffany. There will be a preview in London at Cromwell Place 12–13 March. Details: bellmans.co.uk
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