RURAL VOICES with Marian Boswall
Designing for the Long View: Regenerative Landscapes and the Future of the Rural
What does it mean to shape land not just for today, but for the next hundred years?
In this special Rural Voices talk, leading landscape architect and horticulturalist Marian Boswall shares her vision for regenerative design - an approach that works with ecology, history and community to create landscapes that are both beautiful and resilient.
Marian is known for her deeply contextual work: restoring flood plains, reimagining farmsteads, and guiding projects in some of the country’s most sensitive historic settings. Whether advising estates, collaborating with land stewards, or designing contemporary interventions within ancient landscapes, her focus is always to uncover what is special about a place and invest in its long-term health.
A former lecturer in Historic Garden Conservation at the University of Greenwich, Fellow of the Landscape Institute and co-founder of the Sustainable Landscape Foundation, Marian combines practical expertise with a generous, thoughtful philosophy. Her award-winning books, Sustainable Garden and The Kindest Garden, explore how our gardens and shared spaces can nurture biodiversity, restore soils, and care for us in return.
In the spirit of our Future Rural theme, Marian will explore how regenerative thinking can guide the evolution of rural communities. How do we design with flood, drought and biodiversity loss in mind? How can local materials, local knowledge and long-term stewardship reshape the places we live? And what does it look like to treat land not as a backdrop, but as a living partner?
This is a chance to hear from one of the country’s leading voices in landscape design about building a countryside that is not only productive, but restorative - rooted in respect for the past and hopefulness for the future.
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Please arrive promptly at 9am for breakfast, the talk will begin at 9.45am.
BOOK NOW! Tickets are £15 or £12.50 for Horningsham residents- All profits go to the Village Hall Regeneration Fund.
If you need any help with booking please contact events@horningshamvillagehall.com