Phoebe Cook Lecture Series

In 1987, The Phoebe Cook Lecture Series was established to honor Memphis Garden Club member Phoebe Cook by her daughter Phoebe Cook Welsh of Houston, Texas. The annual lecture brings national and international speakers to the Dixon Gallery and Gardens and is free and open to the public. In 2014, Memphis Garden Club and the Phoebe Cook family completed a campaign to add substantially to the Phoebe Cook Endowment Fund.

Hanneke Frankema

National and International Master Florist and Floral Designer

2025 Phoebe Cook Lecture Series

Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 11:00 A.M.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens

*free to the public

Presented by Memphis Garden Club
Hanneke Frankema

Born and raised in Friesland, Netherlands, Hannek developed a passion for flowers from a young age working in a flower shop since she was 14. She became the youngest Master Florist in the Netherlands and has since achieved significant milestones in the floriculture industry.
As a renowned Dutch floral designer and Master Florist, celebrated for her innovative and colorful floral arrangements, Hanneke Frankema is a highly sought after guest arranger. She travels globally to teach master classes, give demonstrations, compete, and create floral installations for trade fairs, shows, and private clients. Her work is known for its avant-garde techniques, vibrant color use, and meticulous attention to detail.

The Phoebe Cook Lecture series is co-sponsored by the Memphis Garden Club, a member of the Garden Club of America, and Dixon Gallery and Gardens. This series provides an opportunity to bring outstanding speakers in horticulture, conservation, and floriculture to Memphis. The series was established and endowed by the late Phoebe Cook Welsh in memory of her mother, Phoebe Cook. Gifts from Welsh’s family, the Memphis Garden Club, and friends in the Memphis community continue to fund this series ensuring its continued success and growth. The series has become a cornerstone of the Memphis cultural scene, attracting audiences eager to learn from the best in horticulture and floral design.

35 Years of the Phoebe Cook Lecture Series

listed in chronological order

Grenville Lucas

Kew Gardens' Keeper of Herbarium

Rosemary Verey

British Garden Designer and Author

Chris Giftos

Metropolitan Museum Floral Designer

Paola Burger

Italian Floral Designer

Charles Gale

Philadelphia Garden Designer

Ken Druse

Award-winning Garden Author
*has presented twice

Rene Van Rems

California Floral Designer

Oliver Guini

Maxim's Floral Designer

Rosamund Wallinger

British Garden Designer & Author

Danald Vanderbrook

Ohio Floral Designer

Allan Armitage

Georgia Professor and Author

Carolyne Roehm

New York Floral Design Author

John Brookes

English Landscape Designer and Author

Hitomi Gilliam

Canadian Floral Designer and Author

Tracy DiSabato-Aust

Ohio Garden Designer and Author

Talmage McLaurin

Associate Editor of Florists' Review Magazine

Chip Callaway

North Carolina Landscape Architect

Jane Godshalk

Pennsylvania Floral Designer

Thomas Hobbs

TV Host and Gardening Author

Remco Van Vliet

Metropolitan Museum Floral Designer

William Cullina

Author and Director of the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden

William Thomas

Director of Chanticleer Garden, Philadelphia

Joe Fava, ASID

Fava Designs of Miami, FL

Bruno Duarté

Canadian Floral Designer

Charles Stick

Virginia-based Landscape Architect

Francoise Weeks

Belgian Floral Designer

Thomas Woltz

Landscape Architect

Sue and Bleddyn Wynn-Jones

Welsh Plant Explorers

Joseph Massie

English Floral Designer

Isabel Bannerman

Garden Designer and Builder

Page Dickey

Garden Designer
*Virtual Lecture

Lewis Miller

Floral Designer

Dr. Richard Olsen

Director, US National Arboretum

Susan McLeary

Floral Designer and Instructor

Staci Catron

Garden Preservationist and Author

Hanneke Frankema

Floral Designer