The invitation only event for Sponsors and Patrons of A Passion for Gardens will be
at the Highland Park Mansion of acclaimed interior designer Betty Lou Phillips.

The Women’s Council of the Dallas Arboretum revealed the location for an invitation only Meet the Authors reception for Sponsors and Patrons of 12th Annual “A Writer’s Garden” Literary Symposium and Luncheon - A Passion for Gardens. In attendance will be the distinguished authors for the 2018 program:  Carolyne Roehm, internationally recognized style icon and gardener extraordinaire; and Colta Ives, renowned art historian and landscape designer. 

The intimate evening with the symposium speakers is planned for Tuesday, November 13, 2018 - 6 PM to 8 PM in the Highland Park mansion of acclaimed interior designer Betty Lou Phillips. The party in the beautifully decorated home on St. Johns will be an unforgettable evening for attendees. It was named one of the ten most beautiful homes in Dallas by D Magazine in 2010.

“A Woman’s Garden is one of the most beautiful places in Dallas. As an author myself, it is a great pleasure to open my home for this very special evening with Carolyne and Colta for the patrons and sponsors of this event,” said Betty Lou.

Betty Lou Phillips is a translator of European tastes for sophisticated Americans. She is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers. She is also the award-winning author of more than a dozen books on French and Italian design, including The French Room, Inspirations from France & Italy, French Impressions, and The Allure of French & Italian Décor. Her work has been featured in hundreds of newspapers and dozens of magazines. She was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is the mother of three sons all of whom married interior designers.

“A Writer’s Garden” Literary Symposium & Luncheon is the Women’s Council annual Fall Fundraiser.  Proceeds go towards the maintenance and improvement of A Woman’s Garden - a principle garden at the Dallas Arboretum. This year’s event will occur Wednesday, November 14, 2018 from 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM  at the Arboretum.

Longtime supporter of the Dallas Arboretum and the Dallas community, Barbara Hunt Crow, is the Honorary Chairman. Michelle Mew is the Event Chair and Linda Spina is the President of the Women’s Council.

Both of our speakers’ current books will be available for purchase and autographing at the Symposium. 

Sponsor Underwriting Levels for “A Writer’s Garden” Literary Symposium & Luncheon are $25,000, $15,000, $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500. Individual Patron tickets are $1,500, $1,000, $500, and $250.

Individual tickets are $150 per person for the Symposium & Luncheon and $125 per person for the Symposium Only.

Complete Information is available at www.womenscouncildallasarboretum.org.

Questions, please contact:

Michelle Mew, Event Chair, 214-236-2564 or mmew1111@aol.com

Mary Ellen Winborn, Reservations Chair, 214-369-2246 or mewinborn@sbcglobal.net

About the Distinguished Authors

Carolyne Roehm
Style icon and lifestyle maven Carolyne Roehm has been part of American design culture for over four decades with a career spanning the fashion, gardening, decorative arts, entertaining and publishing worlds. Finding a mentor in Oscar de la Renta, Carolyne worked alongside the couture great for 10 years before launching her own fashion house in 1985. A discerning eye and a passion for beauty lead her into the world of flowers and gardening, where her books are often referred to as the best in their field. Subsequent entertaining and interiors titles cemented her position as one of America’s premier lifestyle experts. 

A former president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, with appearances in both the Who’s Who of Women in America and the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame, she was honored by Manolo Blahnik with a shoe in her name and, in a fitting tribute, design legend Bill Blass labeled her “The Ultimate Tastemaker.”

Regardless of the medium, Carolyne’s unerring eye and innate sense of style have turned out timeless products including clothing, fashion accessories, jewelry, and fragrance.

The author of twelve books including At Home in the Garden, A Passion for Flowers, At Home with Carolyne Roehm, and the Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring Notebook Series, Carolyne’s mission is to teach others how to capture and create beauty in their lives, in both the everyday and the out of the ordinary.

Her new book, Design & Style: A Constant Thread will be released this month.  And will be available for purchase and autographing at the Symposium. 

Colta Ives
During her long career at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, Colta Ives organized over 20 exhibitions and authored nearly as many scholarly books on artists and art, mainly of the nineteenth century, among which are the following titles: Daumier Drawings, The Private Collection of Edgar Degas, The Lure of the Exotic: Gauguin in New York Collections, The Graphic Art of Pierre Bonnard; and Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings. Colta has lectured on these topics and others at the invitation of museums across America and also in France and Australia. She has conducted seminars at New York University and at Columbia University, her alma mater, from which she holds graduate degrees in both Art History and Landscape Design.

Following her retirement from the Metropolitan Museum with the title Curator Emerita, Colta was invited to return to the Museum as a guest curator to mount an exhibition she conceived on the historic botanical boom of the nineteenth century and its effect on French art, culture, and gardening practices. That exhibition, shown at the Museum in New York from March through July 2018, was the realization of her book published earlier this year, Public Parks, Private Gardens: Paris to Provence. This book will also be available at the Symposium for purchase and autographing.

Colta is a lifelong amateur botanist and experimental gardener at her woodland retreat in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.