- Francis Cabot
Francis Higginson Cabot (born 1925), C.M., C.Q. is an American
gardener and horticulturist.A 1949 graduate of
Harvard College , Cabot was active in theHasty Pudding Theatricals and was one of the four founders of the "a cappella " singing group, theHarvard Krokodiloes [http://www.kroks.com/alumni Notable Alumni of the Harvard Krokodiloes] .] . After college he began constructing a garden on private property inCold Spring, New York , above theHudson River , beginning a life-long passion forhorticulture [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E5D7173DF936A1575AC0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print Raver, Anne. "NATURE; In the Lair of a Tender Giant." "The New York Times", 2003-09-25, Style section.] ] . Cabot was appointed Chairman of theNew York Botanical Garden in the Bronx from 1973 to 1976. In 1989, he founded the nonprofitGarden Conservancy [http://www.gardenconservancy.org/index.pl?Title=About%20Us Website of the Garden Conservancy.] ] , after noting that two-thirds of America's great gardens had been destroyed by development. The Conservancy began with "four acres of giant cactuses, succulents and native species" inWalnut Creek, California , the life's work of gardener Ruth Bancroft [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E0DC1339F932A15753C1A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print Raver, Anne. "HUMAN NATURE; The Keepers of the Garden's Soul." "The New York Times", 1999-11-21, Style section.] ] . The organization's Open Days program has opened more than three hundred private gardens to the public throughout the United States [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DA1239F930A25754C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print Spiegel, Meryl. "Enjoying Pleasures of Special Gardens." "The New York Times", 1997-07-13, New York and Region section.] ] and has been active in the preservation of seventeen important private gardens for posterity, including the rehabilitation of the gardens atAlcatraz [http://www.gardenconservancy.org/news.pl?ID=13 Garden Conservancy Webpage for the Alcatraz Historic Gardens Project.] ] . Cabot has become renowned for his personal gardens around the world. His own garden in Cold Spring, known as Stonecrop, was opened to the public in 1992 and is now one of the premier public gardens in the United States, encompassing sixty-three acres [http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/travel/escapes/13gardens.html?sq=&pagewanted=all Dobrzynski, Judith H. "The Hudson Valley’s Fields of Joy." "The New York Times", 2007-07-13, Escapes section.] ] . Its components were influenced and improved in the 1980s by horticulturist Caroline Burgess, who became the garden's director, having previously worked with legendary English gardenerRosemary Verey . Cabot's private garden in theCharlevoix region ofQuebec covers more than 20 acres and is called Les Quatre Vents. He is credited with introducing a number of plants and grasses to North America, includingJapanese blood grass [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807E5DC173DF934A25753C1A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print Raver, Anne. "NATURE; In the Thick of Great Grasses." "The New York Times", 2002-10-17, Style section.] ] .In 2005, he was made an honorary Member of the
Order of Canada . [http://gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4523 Governal General site announcing Cabot's C.M.] ] In 2000, he was made a Chevalier of theNational Order of Quebec .In 2001, he wrote the book "The Greater Perfection: The Story of the Gardens at Les Quatre Vents", which was the recipient of the 2003 Literature Award of the Council of Botanical and Horticultural Libraries and which the "Oxford Companion to Gardens" referred to as "one of the best books ever written about the making of a garden by its creator." [http://www.hortuspress.com/ Website of the Hortus Press.] ]
External links
* [http://gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4523 Governal General site announcing his C.M.]
* [http://www.gardenweek.org/PerfectionLo.pdf Garden Week article]References
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