Heirloom Seeds and Community Memory

Join preservation gardener Diana Kimball-Anderson for a discussion of heirloom seeds and their role in the transmission of community memory. This is the second in a series of three gardening programs. This program is hybrid: attend in person the Mayer Room or register for the Zoom invitation here. Seeds carry more than genetics: they can carry stories, family traditions, local adaptations and pieces of community history. This program explores the role heirloom plants have played in gardens and communities, why particular varieties survive while others disappear, and how gardeners can help preserve both useful plants and the stories connected with them. Diana Kimball-Anderson is a horticulturist and historic landscape professional whose work connects garden history with practical care for gardens and orchards today. Her experience includes Morven for the University of Virginia Foundation, Enfield Shaker Museum, and Billings Farm & Museum. Through Preservation Gardening, she offers illustrated talks, garden consultations, planning and design, and ongoing stewardship. Based in Thetford, Vermont, Diana works with private gardens and historic landscapes in the Upper Valley and Central Virginia. Her programs explore heirloom plants, useful herbs, productive household landscapes, and the knowledge carried by generations of gardeners.