Gardener’s Notebook: everything to see at Kew Gardens’ Queer Nature Festival this October
Plants and fungi reproduce in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways and have provided inspiration for queer theorists and thinkers for years.
Take the humble citrus, which cross-pollinate or hybridise with each other with free abandon, creating many of our favourite vitamin C boosting fruits as if by accident.
There are three types of mandarin, from which oranges and grapefruit are descended, while some citrus can produce multiple plants from a single seed.
These are among the revelations at Kew Gardens autumn festival, Queer Nature, which delves into the infinitely complex world of plants and fungi and the remarkable, 'queer' evolutionary tactics that allow them to thrive in challenging environments.
Alongside those citrus and liverworts, ferns and palms in the temperate house are artworks, including House of Spirits, by American artist Jeffrey Gibson.
Comprised of layers of illustrated fabric using botanical drawings and Gibson's writing and patterns, the piece evokes the unlimited diversity in the natural world.
There is also a series of interview recordings with LGBTQ+ scientists, gardeners, writers and artists reflecting on their own connections to the natural world and how it shapes identity.
Artists Ama Josephine Budge Johnstone and Lili K Bright deliver a spoken word piece on their perspectives of queer nature.
You’ll also find a display of pansies by artist and ‘accidental activist’ Paul Harfleet, founder of The Pansy Project (@thepansyproject).
In 2005, Harfleet began planting pansies at the sites of homophobic attacks, and has now planted over 300 pansies across the world.
Breaking the Binary is a garden installation by Patrick Featherstone (@pplantz) and the Kew Youth Forum, a yearly program for twenty 14-18 year olds to learn about plants, science, gain skills and confidence and engage and collaborate with experts and artists.
Four swirling beds are filled with plants that are able to reproduce in myriad of different ways including, self propagating persicaria, Sorbus species that can produce viable seed without pollination and cycads that depend on other species in order to be pollinated.
A queer celebration wouldn’t be complete without a party, guest curator and founder of andwhatarts, Andrew Ellerby has lined up four evenings of queer entertainment live from inside the Temperate House.
The adult only After Hours celebrations are set to include music from gardener-DJ Auntie Maureen, performances from Bi-Curious George (@bi.curious.george_drag) broadcasting and a no morels mushroom cabaret.
Throughout October the installations can be enjoyed by anyone visiting Kew. After Hours Festivities take place on October 13, 14, 20 and 21. Tickets cost £19 and must be booked in advance from kew.org