The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, presents three lectures highlighting the historic gardens at Rienzi.

• Labor Day Garden Lecture: Ten Easy-to-Grow Herbs for Fall - Local culinary herbalist Susan Wood discusses the care and maintenance of a cool-weather herb garden for Houston winters. Lemonade and cookies follow the presentation. All Labor Day events are included in the one-time admission of $10 and $8 for MFAH members. (Takes place at Rienzi)
• In Conversation: The Historic Garden Today - Bart Brechter, MFAH head of Gardens and Landscape, speaks with historic-landscape scholar Professor Mark Laird, University of Toronto, in Rienzi’s formal gardens. Rienzi’s house and gardens will be open for self-guided exploration 45-minutes before the event. Free with general admission. (Takes place at Rienzi)
• The Art of the Folly: Painshill Park and the 18th-century English Garden - Professor Mark Laird, University of Toronto, relates his 30-year restoration project of the folly gardens at Painshill Park near the city of Cobham in Surrey, a prime example of an 18th-century English landscape park. This remarkable garden was originally created by the house’s owner, the Honourable Charles Hamilton, between 1738 and 1773. Painshill Park is home to numerous follies, including the Turkish Tent, the Gothic Temple, the Mausoleum, the Hermitage, the Grotto, and the Temple of Bacchus, the project’s final reconstruction which is currently underway. Free with general admission. (Takes place at Brown Auditorium / Caroline Wiess Law Building)