Gardening Can Be Murder - Lecture & Book Signing

• Tuesday, October 29 @ 6:00 pm
• University of Delaware Botanic Gardens, Newark, DE

With their deadly plants, razor-sharp shears, shady corners, and ready-made burial sites, gardens make an ideal scene for a murder mystery. Flora and horticulture have had an outsized influence on the genre: motive, means, opportunity, victims, villains, and detectives. Join Marta McDowell, a writer, gardener, and avid mystery reader, in exploring the many ways in which writers—from Edgar Allen Poe and Wilkie Collins to Agatha Christie and some of today’s top crime fiction authors—have found inspiration in the sinister side of gardening.



Book signing will begin at 6pm and the lecture will start at 7pm. Free parking is reserved for attendees in the FinTech parking lot. See MAP HERE.  



Marta McDowell teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden and is a popular lecturer and writer.  Her latest book is Gardening Can Be Murder, about the horticultural connections to crime fiction. Timber Press also published Unearthing The Secret Garden, Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life, The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, New York Times-bestselling All the Presidents' Gardens, and Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life, now in its ninth printing. She was the 2019 recipient of the Garden Club of America's Sarah Chapman Francis Medal for outstanding literary achievement.

Registration and prepayment required. To register please follow ticket link. Please email botanicgardens@udel.edu with any questions and call 302-831-4188 if you would like to register by phone. For checks please send payment to: UDBG, 152 Townsend Hall, University of DE, Newark DE 19716. Should the expense of participating in our event pose a challenge for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us, as we are happy to discuss and accommodate your needs to the best of our ability.



Cancellation Policy: UDBG reserves the right to cancel any program if necessary. Refunds take approximately three to four weeks to process. There will be no refunds after a class or series begins. Payment will be refunded if cancellation is made by the registrant 10 business days prior to class.

History & Culture Lectures & Workshops Literature & Poetry Northern Delaware

Plan Your Visit

More Events You Might Like

Stay Connected