“Canterbury Cathedral, Gardens, and Grounds Through Time”
Philip Oostenbrink, Canterbury Cathedral

In this talk Philip will show archive material of the gardens and grounds of Canterbury Cathedral (Mother Church of the Church of England), beginning with 12th Century and Medieval plans, Victorian photographs and ending up with 20th century images that will show how the gardens and grounds developed throughout the 1,500 years of history of the site. Philip will also show what the gardens look like at present, any projects that are being undertaken at the moment and he will discuss the plant collections held at Canterbury Cathedral. The length of the talk is approximately 60 minutes after which there will be time for questions. A talk not just for people interested in gardens, but also for people who enjoy learning about history.

About Canterbury Cathedral

Philip Oostenbrink became Head Gardener of Canterbury Cathedral in January 2015. He has had a love of plants all his life. After finishing Horticultural College in The Netherlands he did a teaching degree in horticulture at Higher Education level. During this course Philip taught horticulture at a secondary school in The Netherlands for eight years. In 2008 Philip moved to the UK and after being a self-employed gardener for three years, he became deputy head gardener of a 10 acre land based college garden. The love of gardening combined with a great interest in history made Philip apply for the job at Canterbury Cathedral. Philip and his team look after the 24 acre site’s green spaces. Most of these gardens are private and only open to the general public once a year. Philip is a plantsman and has three National Plant Collection of his own. These are Hakonechloa macra cultivars, Aspidistra elatior cultivars and Ophiopogon japonicus cultivars. He is also setting up a National Collection of Magnolia bred by Amos Pickard within the Cathedral Precincts. Apart from working at The Cathedral Philip is a committee member for plant trials at the Royal Horticultural Society and Plant Collections Coordinator for Plant Heritage: assessing existing National Plant Collections and assisting in setting up new National Plant Collections. Philip also opens his private tropical home garden for charity. This tropical home garden was filmed by BBC Gardeners’ World in September 2018 and aired in May 2019.

Cost: Free for Friends of the JC Raulston Arboretum members, NC State University students (with ID), and Department of Horticultural Science faculty and staff, all others $5.00.

Registration: Advance registration is not available.