SARASOTA — After his time with the Beatles, George Harrison lived on a country estate in England and continued to write music.
But there developed another passion for gardening.
“It sort of makes sense. You can see the prevalence of garden imagery on album covers, videos, and even references in his songs,” said David Berry, chief museum curator at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.
Berry and the team at Selby created an exhibition to celebrate Harrison’s love for nature and music.
It’s an exhibit set to open on Feb. 9 called George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life.
“It’s wonderful to celebrate his life and legacy and then to tell an aspect of his story that is a little less familiar to most people,” said Berry.
Selby CEO Jennifer Rominiecki says her family actually told her about George’s connection to gardening.
“I did not know that he was such a significant gardener. We are all Beatles fans. And in fact, Something is my wedding song,” she said.
There are displays representing Harrison’s songs, like While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Angel Lara is in charge of the Tropical Conservatory.
“There’s not too many hanging guitar waterfalls out there,” he said.
The exhibition will be open until June 29.
It features many George-inspired touches, from the sundials he loved so much to the Gnmoes that were on the cover of his All Things Must Pass album.
The Harrison family estate donated photographs and home movies.
“It’s really exciting to see George himself building his own gardens. So you will see George dirty even on a backhoe,” said Rominiecki.
Harrison’s widow, Olivia, also collaborated on this project and will be here to see it in person on Tuesday.
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