George Harrison’s Love of Gardening Is the Theme of Selby Gardens’ Upcoming Exhibition

My sweet Lord!

In the ninth installment of its Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition series, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens will present George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life. The exhibit, which will be on view Feb. 9, 2025, through June 29, 2025, at Selby Gardens’ downtown Sarasota campus, will explore the deep and meaningful connection between musician George Harrison—best known as the lead guitarist of the The Beatles—and gardening, which became Harrison’s greatest passion.

Harrison’s love of gardening was an integral part of his identity. In an interview in Rolling Stone in 1979, he described himself as “just a gardener.” His 1980 autobiography, I, Me, Mine, was dedicated “to gardeners everywhere.”

In 1970, not long after The Beatles disbanded, Harrison—who was 27 at the time—purchased the estate of Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames, a small town in Oxfordshire, England. Built by an eccentric lawyer named Sir Frank Crisp in 1889, the once-grand Victorian property—which boasted lodges and spectacular gardens across 32 acres, in addition to its mansion—had fallen into disrepair. With the help of his wife, Olivia, George revitalized the neglected property and, in doing so, began his love affair with gardening. 

Harrison’s approach to gardening was full of creativity, spontaneity, whimsy, humor and joy, all of which inspired the upcoming exhibition at Selby Gardens. The exhibit will combine a display of objects and ephemera in the Museum of Botany & the Arts, along with horticultural vignettes in the Tropical Conservatory and throughout the 15-acre downtown Sarasota campus. Featured throughout the exhibition will be a selection of Harrison’s music and lyrics, as well as excerpts from Came the Lightening, a book of poems by Olivia Harrison dedicated to her husband. The exhibit will also highlight Harrison’s connection to nature and celebrate his life and legacy through the power of plants.

A selection of special programs will be scheduled throughout the run of the exhibit, including a performance by Selby Gardens’ artist-in-residence Patti smith on Feb 12.

For more information, visit selby.org