BEDFORD – Even before gardening caught fire as a national pastime, husband and wife team Gordon and Mary Hayward were busy creating and tending the one-and-half acres surrounding their Vermont farmhouse. Hayward is a well-known landscape designer and author of 10 books and numerous articles. Mary honed her gardening skills in the English Cotswolds. Together, the Haywards designed a set of connected yards and gardens complete with sitting and dining areas, water features and outdoor sculpture. Their experience can be adapted in anyone’s garden regardless of size or location.

Eight garden clubs – Amherst, Bedford, Goffstown, Hollis, Hooksett, Manchester, Merrimack and Milford garden clubs – have joined forces to sponsor a landscaping event for southern New Hampshire gardeners.

Hayward will take center stage at the Bedford High School Theatre, 47B Nashua Road, at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 19. Using a slide show of photos from his book, “The Intimate Garden,” he will share the trials and tribulations he and his wife faced as they transformed the neglected land surrounding their home into a tranquil haven.

“Gardening can be a humbling experience,” Gordon Hayward said. “Gardeners need to accept change. Nothing is more constant in nature than change, and we as gardeners need to embrace it. No garden is going to stay the same, and we have to change with it. This requires patience and that’s one trait that runs contrary to today’s fast-paced, high-tech world.”

Before you dig into your own spring garden, learn from the Haywards’ years of experience. Whether you’re a veteran horticulturist or a beginning gardener, Hayward’s demystifying landscape design will help you look at your open space with new eyes. His mantra is, “You can do this!”

“Area residents will have a rare opportunity to learn how to create outdoor spaces that are unique, personal and in harmony with their surroundings,” Kris Rodriguez, president of the Bedford Garden Club, said. “The program is our gift to the community. Part of our mission is to educate and spread the love of gardening.”

The public is invited to attend. Tickets may be purchased for $5 at Bedford Fields in Bedford, at Toadstool Bookshop in Milford and at Moulton’s Market in Amherst. The evening of the event, tickets will be sold for $8 and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. After the program, attendees will have an opportunity to meet Hayward, and purchase a signed copy of one of his books. Refreshments will be served. For more information, or to buy tickets through the eight hosting garden clubs, call 488-5001 or visit bedfordnhgardenclub.org.