Francis H. Cabot, Founder

Garden Conservancy Profile

Garden Conservancy Founder and renowned horticulturist Frank Cabot (1925 - 2011) is widely recognized as an influential force in America’s national garden community. In 2006, when the Garden Club of America (GCA) awarded him its Achievement Medal for outstanding “creative vision and ability” it lauded him as attaining “the greatest horticultural accomplishment in America in the last half-century.”

Not only did the GCA praise his leadership of the Garden Conservancy, but also his creation of two significant gardens—Stonecrop in Cold Spring, New York, and Les Quatre Vents in Charlevoix County, Quebec—and his work to restore Los Luceros in New Mexico and Aberglasney in Wales.

“At these noteworthy homes and gardens he demonstrated his expertise as a garden designer, his dedication to historic preservation and the protection of the natural landscape, and his belief in hands-on education for people of all ages,” said Garden Conservancy President Antonia Adezio. “Not only have we experienced Frank’s vision, dedication, and generosity within the Garden Conservancy, but we’ve also witnessed how these magnificent qualities have had their effects on preserving and safeguarding many gardens across the country. He is an inspiration.”

Previously, the GCA had presented Frank with its Florens DeBevoise Medal in 1993. The same year Frank and his wife Anne were honored as “true champions of horticulture” by the Friends of Wave Hill in New York City. Other distinguished organizations that have bestowed honors on Frank Cabot include the horticultural societies in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania; botanical gardens in Brooklyn, Chicago, Cleveland, and Missouri; and the Royal Horticultural Society in England. He received the Arthur Hoyt Scott award from the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, the Liberty Hyde Baily Award from the American Horticultural Society, and the Chevalier de L’ordre Nationale du Quebec. In 2003, the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries presented him its Annual Literature Award for his book The Greater Perfection, about the history and making of Les Quatre Vents.

For more information, see also our Frank Cabot tribute page from November 2011.

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