Landscape Talk by English Garden Expert

In this country, Penelope Hobhouse probably is the best-known contemporary English gardener, simply because she has written so many fine and colorful books on gardens and garden design--books on Gertrude Jekyll; one called “Color in the Garden,” which was a landmark book for those grappling with this tricky topic; the National Trust book on gardening; “Private Gardens of England,” which let readers peek into some truly marvelous gardens, and, most recently, “Garden Style.”

On Feb. 8 at 11:30 a.m., gardeners are invited by the Friends of French Art to meet Hobhouse, hear her talk and watch a dual-projector slide show on “Color and Landscape Design,” which is promised “not to lay down rules of aesthetics but to show how the rules of color theory can become a ‘grammar,’ which guides the gardener as much as the artist.”

A 1 p.m. luncheon follows the talk, and the price for both is $60. The proceeds benefit Friends of French Art. For tickets, call Elin Vanderlip at (213) 377-4444. The talk will be at the Four Seasons Hotel, 300 Doheny Drive.