Audrey Hepburn A-Z: F is for...

F is for...Flowers!

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Audrey Hepburn's love of flowers and gardens came to the forefront of her career towards the end of her career with a documentary series called Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn. 

In an interview with The Telegraph, Audrey's son Luca spoke of his mother's love of gardening, saying that it started in her childhood. " Right after the war broke out gardening for pleasure was out of the question, and later on in the Winter of Hunger (when supply lines to Holland were cut off), there was no food. On May 5th 1945, Holland was liberated – one day after my mother’s birthday, so really, after the most terrible winter of her life, the liberation came with the spring, and with spring came food.

"Nature and life was blooming again in Holland after the war – and after her birthday. Because of this, she always said that gardens are a proof of life. She also said how our innate human love for flowers is imprinted in our DNA, because flowers become fruits."

Gardens of the World was Audrey's way to share her love of gardens while educating audiences about some of the world's most famous gardens and the history behind them. An introductory special premiered on PBS in March 1991 while full episodes premiered in January 1993, after her death. Two further episodes, on tropical gardens and Japanese gardens, premiered in 1996. 

The episodes focused on different types of flowers and gardens:

• Roses and Rose Gardens (featuring La Roseraie de L'Haÿ-les-Roses in southern France and Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire, England)
• Formal Gardens (featuring gardens in Italy, France and England)
• Tulips and Spring Bulbs (tracing the history of the tulip through gardens in the Netherlands and England)
• Flower Gardens (featuring naturalistic flower gardens in England)
• Country Gardens (featuring country gardens at cottages and farmhouses in Italy and England)
• Public Gardens and Trees (featuring public gardens in the United States and France; and also a special tribute to trees, with Audrey reading from The Diary of Anne Frank)
• Japanese Gardens (featuring the most famous gardens in Japan)
• Tropical Gardens (featuring the most famous tropical gardens in the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, and Hawaii)

Robbie Wolders, her partner, said that the series "became an intensely personal and creative process for her. She immersed herself in not only the beauty of the gardens, but also in their origins and evolution."

Audrey donated her entire salary to UNICEF (as was her wont during her later career) and this remains her only television series. In 1993, she was posthumously awarded the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement, Informational Programming for the program. 

Audrey's love of flowers and gardening isn't limited to this series, though, nor to the huge gardens at La Paisible. She also has a rose and a tulip named after her. The Audrey Hepburn Rose is a light pink hybrid tea rose with a light, fruity scent that was created and named after her in 1992. 

The Audrey Hepburn Tulip is a white tulip (her favourite flower), and was dedicated in her honour in 1990 for her long career and her work with UNICEF. 

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What is your favourite flower? I'm partial to pink peonies, ice plant flowers (Delosperma) or blossoms. 

Come back soon for the letter H!