Carolyn Hardy
Carolyn Hardy | |
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Born | 16 June 1930 VMH |
Carolyn Hardy
Personal life
Carolyn Evanson was born on 16 June 1930 in Richmond, Yorkshire, UK. She studied horticulture at Wye College, Kent (1949-1952). In 1952 she married Alan Hardy, and lived with him at Sandling Park in Kent. They had two daughters. She died 23 September 2016, after suffering from Alzheimer's disease in her last decade.
Horticultural career
The Sandling Park estate already had a reputation for rare trees and shrubs, and the Hardys developed it further as well as both becoming well-known in the horticultural world. She particularly introduced ground cover plants to contrast with trees.
They exhibited at Royal Horticultural Society shows and became involved in the organisation of the society. Carolyn Hardy was a member of the RHS Governing Council 1985 – 1997, member of many RHS committees and was Vice-Chair of the RHS for 10 years (2006 - 2016).[4] She was a moderniser, involved in widening the range of people involved with the RHS.[2]
However, before her work for the Royal Horticultural Society, she had been involved with the UK charity
Awards
She was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's most distinguished award, the Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) in 1989 and the Order of the British Empire in 1998 for services to horticulture.[1] Several plant varieties have been named after her including Dianthus 'Carolyn Hardy'[7] and Deutzia hookeriana 'Carolyn Hardy'.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d "Carolyn Hardy, eminent gardener – obituary". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ a b c Bannister, Matthew. "Robert Vaughn, Sir Sigmund Sternberg, Carolyn Hardy OBE, Ewen Whitaker, Claude 'Curly' Putman". Last Word - obituary podcast. BBC. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ "Sandling Park, Hythe, England". Parks and Gardens UK. Parks and Gardens Data Services. Retrieved 5 December 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "RHS Annual Report 2015-16". RHS. RHS. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Carolyn Hardy OBE, VMH". National Gardens Scheme. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ Buchan, Ursula. "Secret Gardens". The Spectator archive. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ "Dianthus 'Carolyn Hardy' (pf)". Royal Horticultural Society. RHS. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ "Deutzia hookeriana 'Carolyn Hardy'". Royal Horticultural Society. RHS. Retrieved 5 December 2016.