Visually lush, richly informative, refreshing, beautiful, Audrey Hepburn serves up a veritable treatise on our most illustrious cultivated environs in Gardens of the World.

Audrey Hepburn’s love of nature and gardens, her appreciation of simple honest beauty in the world, imbue her every phrase and gesture. Shortly after filming in 17 spectacular gardens in seven countries, Audrey Hepburn delightedly affirmed that she could have never imagined the gardens “would reveal the diverse range of expression they did.”

Eloquently, naturally, Hepburn imparts an unerring sense of place – of serenity, in the ancient moss temple garden Saiho-ji in Kyoto Japan; of sensual beauty, in the soft, velvety air of the tropics in the Dominican Republic; of pure enchantment, during high rose tide in the magnificent rose garden at Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire.

Hepburn filming locations include: in the Netherlands, The Keukenhof Garden, the Tulip Fields of Lisse; in the Dominican Republic, Villa Pancha; in America, Historic Mount Vernon; in Japan, Saiho-Ji, Shinshin-An; in Italy, Giardino di Ninfa, Villa Gamberaia; in France, Claude Monet’s Giverny, La-Roseraie de L’Haÿ-les-Roses, Chateau de Courances, Jardin du Luxembourg; in England, Mottisfont Abbey, Tintinhull House, Chilcombe Garden, Hidcote Bartram Village and Hidcote Manor.

Hepburn appears with world-renowned garden writer, designer, historian Penelope Hobhouse in
Flower Gardens, and with the late, highly distinguished rosarian Sir Graham Stuart Thomas in Roses & Rose Gardens. Prodigious British garden author and designer John Brookes, and acclaimed American artist and garden designer Ryan Gainey each appear in Country Gardens. Hepburn shares the narration with venerable British actor Michael York.

The Programs

Roses & Rose Gardens
Audrey Hepburn leads an enchanting adventure with the rose.  From the French ideal of a rose garden at La Roseraie de l’Hays les Roses, south of Paris, to the unsurpassed collection and allure of old roses during high rose tide at Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire, England, the rose affirms its rightful place as the ultimate flower of legend, romance and beauty.  Guest Appearance: The late Sir Graham Stuart Thomas, the premiere rosarian of the 20th century, and author of world renown.
Formal Gardens
Audrey Hepburn eloquently pursues the rich evolution of formal garden design through centuries: from the Renaissance gardens of Italy (Villa Gamberaia, Villa Lante), the grand 17th century gardens of France (Chateau de Courances, Versailles) through to the fusion of the formal and natural styles in 20th century gardens of England (Hidcote Manor, Tintinhull House). UNESCO World Heritage Sites Featured: Hadrian’s Villa in Rome, The Alhambra in Granada. Guest Appearance: Penelope Hobhouse, distinguished British garden authority, designer and writer.
Tulips & Spring Bulbs
Audrey Hepburn unfurls the remarkable story of the queen of spring flowers, the “exquisitely simple” tulip – its influence intertwined through centuries with the history and art of her native Holland.  Fine and rare tulip specimens share the stage with fritillaria, hyacinth, muscari and narcissus – planted en masse, in mixed plantings, and naturalistically in spring meadows or woodland settings. Gardens Featured: Het Loo Palace, Hortus Bulborum, and Keukenhof, in Holland; Chenies Manor and Garsington Manor, in England.
Flower Gardens
Audrey Hepburn leads an artful exploration through the exquisite perennial flower borders at Tintinhull House in Somerset, England, and Claude Monet’s profuse, impressionistic paths of color in his gardens at Giverny. These beautiful flower gardens are each unique, exemplary interpretations of the more naturalistic, mixed planting style that first emerged in the early 20th century, which for many, represents the ideal to this day. Special Guest Appearance: curator of the gardens at Tintinhull House, renowned British garden authority Penelope Hobhouse. (Part 2).
Country Gardens
Audrey Hepburn surveys the range of use and character of the country garden: from romantic Giardino del Ninfa, south of Rome; to the simple cottage gardens in Hidcote Bartrim Village in the Cotswold, to Ryan Gainey’s charming interpretation in Decatur, Georgia in America; or the beautiful, life-sustaining farmhouse gardens of Chilcombe House in the rolling hills and chalk downs of Dorset County, England.  Guest appearance: John Brookes, British garden designer and author of “Country Gardens”, and American artist and designer, Ryan Gainey.
Japanese Gardens
Audrey Hepburn sets the course through centuries of artful expression of Japan’s cultural reverence for nature, for the natural world: the ancient moss temple garden of Saiho-ji; the Karesansui-style or Dry Landscape gardens at Ryoan-Ji, Daisen-In and Ryogen-En; the borrowed landscape of stunning beauty at Shinyodo; the exquisite Hakusanso Tea Garden; the extensive pond gardens of the The Heian Shrine; the Hill & Pond garden style in the oldest Japanese garden in America; concluding with the breathtakingly beautiful stroll garden at Shinshin-An in Kyoto.
Tropical Gardens
Audrey Hepburn surrenders heartily to the lure of the tropics – to the unrivaled diversity of plant species, their brilliance of colors, leaf shapes and forms. As enduringly captured two centuries apart in the paintings and writings of “exploratrices intrépides” Marianne North and Margaret Mee; from within the lush, personal paradise – overflowing with tree perching orchids – at Villa Pancha in the Domincan Republic. And in the world’s renowned botanical gardens: from one of Asia’s oldest, Keban Raya in Indonesia; to Hawaii’s youngest, the magnificent Ho`omaluhia on Oahu, to name a few.
Public Gardens & Trees
From the beautifully restored gardens at George Washington’s Historic Mount Vernon, Audrey Hepburn posits a highly individualistic view of public gardens and urban environs. How the “greening of Paris” led to the fine array of parks and gardens in the city today:  intimate ‘pocket parks’ (Square Rene Viviani),  former grand royal gardens (Jardin de Luxembourg) and spectacular pleasure gardens (Bois de Bologne) among them.  The program concludes with Audrey Hepburn’s moving tribute to trees and nature, reading from the diary of Anne Frank.

Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn
DVD Program Titles & Chapters

Roses & Rose Gardens. A glorious adventure with the ultimate flower of legend, romance and beauty: 1) The French Ideal, 2) Mottisfont Abbey and Audrey Hepburn with Sir Graham Stuart Thomas, 3) A Rose Revolution, 4) For Every Garden, 5) Ode to the Rose, 6) Breadth of Beauty.

Formal Gardens.
An enchanting journey through the rich evolution of formal garden design: 1) The Formal Ideal and Origins, 2) Villa Lante, 3) 17th Century France, 4) The Pendulum Swings, 5) Hidcote Manor, 6) A Formal Conclusion (Audrey Hepburn w/Penelope Hobhouse, Pt 1).

Tulips & Spring Bulbs
. A bright survey of spring blossoms and their inspiration – in art and in the garden: 1).The Queen of Spring, 2) Tulipomania, 3) A Golden Age, 4) In Every Bulb a Flower, 5) Garden Favorites, 6) Nature’s Way.

Japanese Gardens
. A serene journey reflecting centuries of cultural reverence for nature. 1) The Moss Temple, 2) Karesansui, Dry Landscape Gardens, 3) A Reflection of Nature, 4) Hill & Pond and Tea Gardens, 5) The Strolling Garden, Shinshin-an.

Flower Gardens
. An artful exploration of Monet’s gardens at Giverny and classic perennial borders in England: 1) The English Style, 2) Audrey with Penelope Hobhouse, Part 2, 3) The Age of Flowers, 4) Audrey’s Favorite Flower Names, 5) Monet’s Flower Gardens, 6) Monet’s Water Garden.

Country Gardens
. An intimate exploration of earthly country garden pleasures: 1) Summer Afternoon, 2) Ryan Gainey, in Decatur, GA, 3) Through the Ages, 4) The Cottage Garden w/John Brookes, 5) Ninfa, 6) The Country Ideal.

Tropical Gardens
. A wide ranging affirmation of nature’s floristic richness: 1) Nature’s Imagination, 2) The Lure of the Tropics, 3) Illustrious Legacies, 4) Villa Pancha, 5) Botanical Wealth, 6) Forevermore a Garden.

Public Gardens & Trees
. Mt. Vernon and the story of the greening of Paris lead a poignant tribute to trees and nature: 1) Mount Vernon, 2) From Royal to Public, 3) The Greening of Paris and Pocket Parks, 4) Trees, 5) An Ode to Trees & Nature, Audrey Hepburn reading from the Diary of Anne Frank.