Member Speaker Series: Beatrix Potter’s Botanical
Doors open at 10:30 a.m. | Presentation at 11 a.m.
A perennial Speaker Series favorite, author Marta McDowell returns to the Garden to discuss her newest book, Beatrix Potter's Botanical: The Art of Flowers and Fungi. Best known as the creator of Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle-duck, and many other beloved children's characters, Beatrix Potter loved animals. But in 1906, she wrote to a friend, "My news is all gardening at present." Nearing her fortieth birthday, Potter had just purchased Hill Top, a working farm in England's Lake District that would become a place she cherished and a garden she cultivated until her death in 1943. For decades before acquiring Hill Top, Potter painted flowers, fruits, mushrooms, and more in pursuit of both art and natural history. This lecture highlights her life and work through her long love affair with the kingdoms of plants and fungi.
Before the lecture, Nezka Pfeifer, curator of the Garden’s Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, will offer a brief introduction to The Literary Garden, the Museum's current exhibition exploring the connections between literature and the natural world. A book signing will follow the program.
About the Speaker
Marta McDowell’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Woman’s Day, Country Gardening, and elsewhere. Her previous books include Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life, All the Presidents’ Gardens, The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life, Unearthing The Secret Garden, and Gardening Can Be Murder. She consults for public gardens and private clients, writes and lectures on gardening topics, and teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden, where she studied landscape design. She lives, writes, and gardens in Chatham, New Jersey.
Free | For members only | Registration required
REGISTER HERE>
The Member Speaker Series is presented by Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.
The Missouri Botanical Garden is committed to providing an inclusive environment by ensuring that the Garden and our events are accessible to everyone.
For accessibility accommodations such as American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, assisted listening devices, braille or large print handouts, and audio description when applicable, please contact (314) 577-5100 or [email protected] at least two weeks prior to the event (if possible).
Manual wheelchairs, motorized scooters, and strollers are available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center during normal Garden hours. Wheelchair rental is free. Learn more about accessibility at the Garden.
Looking for past Member Speaker Series recordings?
Watch recordings of 2026 Member Speaker Series programs here.
A perennial Speaker Series favorite, author Marta McDowell returns to the Garden to discuss her newest book, Beatrix Potter's Botanical: The Art of Flowers and Fungi. Best known as the creator of Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle-duck, and many other beloved children's characters, Beatrix Potter loved animals. But in 1906, she wrote to a friend, "My news is all gardening at present." Nearing her fortieth birthday, Potter had just purchased Hill Top, a working farm in England's Lake District that would become a place she cherished and a garden she cultivated until her death in 1943. For decades before acquiring Hill Top, Potter painted flowers, fruits, mushrooms, and more in pursuit of both art and natural history. This lecture highlights her life and work through her long love affair with the kingdoms of plants and fungi.
Before the lecture, Nezka Pfeifer, curator of the Garden’s Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, will offer a brief introduction to The Literary Garden, the Museum's current exhibition exploring the connections between literature and the natural world. A book signing will follow the program.
About the Speaker
Marta McDowell’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Woman’s Day, Country Gardening, and elsewhere. Her previous books include Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life, All the Presidents’ Gardens, The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life, Unearthing The Secret Garden, and Gardening Can Be Murder. She consults for public gardens and private clients, writes and lectures on gardening topics, and teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden, where she studied landscape design. She lives, writes, and gardens in Chatham, New Jersey.
Free | For members only | Registration required
REGISTER HERE>
The Member Speaker Series is presented by Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.
The Missouri Botanical Garden is committed to providing an inclusive environment by ensuring that the Garden and our events are accessible to everyone.
For accessibility accommodations such as American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, assisted listening devices, braille or large print handouts, and audio description when applicable, please contact (314) 577-5100 or [email protected] at least two weeks prior to the event (if possible).
Manual wheelchairs, motorized scooters, and strollers are available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center during normal Garden hours. Wheelchair rental is free. Learn more about accessibility at the Garden.
Looking for past Member Speaker Series recordings?
Watch recordings of 2026 Member Speaker Series programs here.