Join us for an illustrated lecture by Sir Peter Crane, President of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, in Upperville, Virginia, on “The Garden and Library: The Botanical Legacy of Bunny Mellon.” Wednesday, April 3, 2024 11:00 am Piedmont Driving Club, Atlanta, Georgia Rachel Lambert Mellon, and her husband, Paul Mellon, were two of the foremost American philanthropists in the second half of the twentieth century. Upon her death in 2013, Mrs. Mellon hoped that the Oak Spring Garden Foundation could continue to steward her home, her garden, and her astonishing Oak Spring Library, while also developing a range of programs focused on plants, gardens and landscapes for artists, scholars, and the broader public. The lecture will introduce the life and work of Rachel Lambert Mellon, and the diverse activities of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation (osgf.org) that she created. About the Speaker Sir Peter Crane FRS is known internationally for his work on the diversity of plant life—its origin, fossil history, current status, conservation, and use. He was at the Field Museum in Chicago from 1982-1999, and Director of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 1999-2006, before being appointed University Professor at The University of Chicago. In 2009 he was recruited as Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (now Yale School of the Environment). Since 2016 he has served as the inaugural President of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Upperville, Virginia. Peter Crane was elected to the Royal Society – the UK Academy of Sciences – in 1998 and was knighted in the UK for services to horticulture and conservation in 2004. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and a Member of the German Academy Leopoldina. He is the recipient of several honorary degrees including honorary doctorates of science from the University of Connecticut and Sewanee: The University of the South as well as Cambridge University in the UK. He received the International Prize for Biology in December 2014. The Garden Club of America will confer the prestigious 2024 Medal of Honor on Sir Peter Crane for his substantial contributions to horticulture, botany, and biology at the organization's annual meeting in April. Funds raised by the Cherokee Garden Library Lecture and Luncheon support the Cherokee Garden Library operations and programs, as well as collection expansion and conservation. For questions about the event, please contact Staci L. Catron, Cherokee Garden Library Director, at 404-814-4046 or [email protected].