There’s something magical about a gathering in a beautiful garden. Here we remember five backyard bashes that have gone down in history
Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee
You may not know, but it was Queen Victoria who hosted the first ever Buckingham Palace Garden Party in 1868. But it took her a few years to hit peak party person at her Golden Jubilee celebration in 1887. As well as several banquets, a parade and two days of festivities, around 6,000 illustrious guests (including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Leopold II of Belgium and Emperor Frederik III of Germany) enjoyed a buffet in a tent in Buckingham Palace gardens, alongside music provided by the Royal Marines. The day was captured in oil on canvas by the artist Frederick Sargent in the painting ‘The Garden Party at Buckingham Palace’, which was bought for Queen Elizabeth’s collection in 1994… Perhaps it was the inspiration for her own ‘Platty Jubes’ celebrations…
Second Earl of Dudley’s 21st at Witley Court
Whether your 21st was a posh bash at the golf club or a few jars at the men’s working club and a homemade cake, it will have paled in comparison to the 21st birthday celebrations of William Ward, Second Earl of Dudley in 1888. The party was a three-day event comprising a ball for 214 with a music marquee as well as a separate marquee for coachmen and a temporary stable to accommodate 100 horses. But the party piece de resistance was Day Three when 900 of his tenants and workers lunched in a massive marquee in his park, after which guests enjoyed ‘swings and roundabouts and boats on the lakes, sports races and music’. Bunting hung all over the drive, the fountains were lit and the night ended with ‘one of the most splendid displays of fireworks ever seen in this country’. Inviting absolutely everyone in the vicinity including women, children and servants worked well in ensuring there were no complaints about the noise!
The Party of the Delights of the Enchanted Island, Versailles
One way to make a party memorable is a quirky theme, which is clearly what Louis XIV had in mind when he threw a party for his mother based on the story of Alcine the Magician from the book Roland Furieux by Ariosto. The party included a horseback parade, in which the King took part, playing the part of ‘Roger’ from the book, followed by Apollo’s Chariot down to ‘Alcine’s Palace’ built especially for the occasion. There were horse-riding competitions, operas, comedies, readings, shepherds and shepherdesses dancing while surrounded by animals… The King himself starred in a ballet just for the ladies, written for him by none other than Moliere and feasts were served by masked and costumed servants. On the third day, Alcine’s Palace was lit up by a firework display during which a floating ‘whale’ and two whale calves took Alcine and her servants away across the water.
We don’t even want to think about how many bin liners it took to clear that little bash up.
MOMA’s Party in the Garden 2022
MOMA (The Museum of Modern Art) in New York City has held an annual fundraiser every year since 1969. Sadly the party was cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020 and in 2021 it had to be held as an online-only event. So by the time the Party in the Garden returned in June 2022 everyone was even more excited than usual to be together in beautiful surroundings, raising money for the museum which had been closed to visitors for so long. New York’s arty types enthusiastically filled MOMA’s modern sculpture garden that evening to honour film-maker George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson. The couple told the assembled crowd how they had enjoyed one of their first dates in the museum, everyone dined on a meal of halibut and burrata and then finished a magical evening dancing to rapper Anderson Paak and DJ Michael Brun. Sometimes the best garden parties are the ones you’ve waited the longest for.
Secret Garden Party
The indie arts and music festival, Secret Garden Party (SGP) was launched in 2004 by DJ and art student Fred Fellowes (SGP’s Head Gardener) and James Whewell, heir to Wyresdale Park, to be an alternative to the larger, mainstream music festivals. It began with just 300 revellers, growing to welcome some 35,000 people 13 years after its inception. As well as live music, art installations and performances, guests can take part in everything from outdoor swimming to parades to workshops, all in the magical setting of Abbots Ripton in Cambridgeshire in the grounds of a Georgian farmhouse, taking in lakes, a river, and beautiful landscaped gardens. Each year has a ‘theme’ that binds together all the acts and offerings and every year is special in its own way, but 2012 is generally accepted to have been the best SGP of all time, with acts including Orbital, KT Tunstall, Lamb and Tim Minchin. The festival is all about ‘secrets’ though, with one of the best being that the acts are not disclosed before the day itself, so you never know quite what sort of garden party you might get!
If you’re feeling inspired by garden parties and secret gardens you might enjoy our feature, Plot Twist, in our September issue, which is all about gardens from fiction. The illustration by Lucille Clerc, above, is taken from Literary Gardens: The Imaginary Gardens Of Writers And Poets by Sandra Lawrence (Frances Lincoln), and depicts a scene from the short story, The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield.
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