On May 4, 2025, the Garden Conservancy premiered the documentary Earth, I Thank You: The Garden and Legacy of Anne Spencer to an enthusiastic crowd at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. The 35-minute film explores the historic sanctuary of Harlem Renaissance poet, teacher, librarian, civil rights advocate, and gardener Anne Spencer (1882-1975), and celebrates the cultural and historical significance of the Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum in Lynchburg, VA.
Attendees were welcomed to the event by the Smithsonian Museum’s Deputy Director Michelle Commander and Garden Conservancy Chairman Robert Balentine. Opening comments were provided by American Society of Landscape Architects CEO Torey Carter-Conneen.
Following the film screening, Pamela Governale, the Garden Conservancy’s Director of Preservation and Producer of the film, provided remarks and introduced Dr. Carlyn Ferrari, author, Spencer scholar, and Assistant Professor of English at Seattle University, who moderated a discussion. The panelists included Brent Leggs, Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and Senior Vice President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Dr. Evie Shockley, Zora Neale Hurston Distinguished Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing & Writers House, Rutgers University; Shaun Spencer-Hester, Executive Director of the Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum; David and Michael Udris, filmmakers, Udris Film; and James Brayton Hall, President and CEO of the Garden Conservancy.
“We were thrilled by the enormously exciting response to the film,” said James Brayton Hall. “The audience appreciated learning about Anne Spencer’s incredible garden and legacy. Anne Spencer’s garden is not only a deeply personal and poetic expression of place—it is a powerful example of why gardens matter. From the moment I first stepped into it, I knew it was remarkable. We’ve been proud to champion its preservation since 2008, and to help ensure that her legacy as a gardener, poet, and advocate continues to educate and inspire.”
Garden Conservancy board member Kate Cordsen is Executive Producer of the documentary. The film is made possible by the Suzanne and Frederic Rheinstein Fund for Documentary Films, a groundbreaking Garden Conservancy initiative envisioned by the late Suzanne Rheinstein to use film to capture the essence of gardens and their historical significance.
The Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum offers a glimpse into the life of one of the most influential figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Spencer's beloved garden was an oasis where she wrote much of her poetry, drawing inspiration and insights from the natural beauty surrounding her. It was also a vibrant gathering place, welcoming luminaries and civil rights leaders including Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, Thurgood Marshall, George Washington Carver, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Earth, I Thank You offers a multi-dimensional portrait of Spencer’s garden and the role it played in her creative life at a pivotal time in American history. The film also explores the literary legacy of Anne Spencer as a poet, librarian, and civil rights advocate who opened the Lynchburg, VA, chapter of the NAACP and became a nationally recognized figure.
“She writes that this garden was half her world, and it really was half her world,” Shaun Spencer-Hester observes during the film, speaking from her grandmother’s garden in Lynchburg. “She couldn’t vote. She was a black woman who was very vocal here in this city. It was a place that she used to come to write, and to garden, but also to escape—to get away from the things that were going on outside of this garden gate.”
It is rare for a historic house and garden to survive intact—especially one belonging to an African American. Earth, I Thank You traces the evolution of Anne Spencer’s property from a personal retreat to a nationally significant cultural landscape. The home and garden are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register, ensuring their preservation for future generations. By documenting the beauty and significance of Spencer’s garden, Earth, I Thank You honors the profound connection between gardens, history, and community.
Gardens, as living works of art, present unique cinematic opportunities, using a blend of archival materials, interviews, letters, and visual storytelling. Appearing in the film are key figures in the world of historic preservation and African American history. Brent Leggs, of the National Trust for Historic Preservation offers insights into the significance of preserving this site. Peggy Cornett, Curator of Plants at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello; Dr. Reuben M. Rainey, Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia and co-author of a book on Anne Spencer; and Dr. Noelle Morrissette, Director of African American and African Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and author of a book on Anne Spencer, discuss the horticultural heritage and legacy of the garden and its role in shaping African American cultural identity.
Earth, I Thank You is the newest in a collection of documentary films produced by the Garden Conservancy. A Garden in Conversation: Louise Agee Wrinkle’s Southern Woodland Sanctuary premiered in 2024, exploring how Louise Wrinkle cultivated and transformed her childhood home in Mountain Brook, AL, into a regional treasure inspiring an appreciation for native gardening and conservation. The collection also documents Blithewood Garden in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, the John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden in Mill Neck, NY, and the woodland garden at Rocky Hills in Mount Kisco, NY.
