Event programme 2024/2025

Death in the Garden

Presented by Michael Brown, The Historic Gardener.  Over the centuries poisonous plants have been used to remove an unwanted partner or rival, as aphrodisiacs, for pest control and the means to foretell the future or speak with the gods.

Learn about the mysterious mandrake and how a pot of Basil helped to conceal a savage murder…

Be warned, many of these plants may well be growing in your garden!

The Wonder of Plants

Presented by Matthew Biggs, The People’s Gardener. Matthew trained at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has presented a number of television programmes, written several books and is best known for his appearances on the long running BBC Radio 4 programme Gardeners Question Time.

Have you ever wondered how cacti survive the extremes of the desert, how the ‘Venus Flytrap’ captures its prey or intricate orchid flowers are pollinated? This talk is an opportunity to look closely at the complexities of some of the plants that give us so much pleasure and to discover how they survive in extreme climates from the steamy, humid tropics to frozen, ice capped mountain tops.

The language of flowers

Presented by Sandy Primrose who is a biologist who has a very varied career. This includes being academic, undertaking research in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic industries.

Sandy is a very keen gardener and lectures extensively on botanical themes.

The Blitz as a Catalyst for Greening London

Presented by Katharine Woods, The Tea Break Gardener.

Katharine will reveal how the devastation of bombing created opportunities for new parks and gardens - including some surprising stories of what once lay beneath some of London’s best-loved parks.

The Drought Resilient Garden

Pip Smith was head gardener at the nationally acclaimed Wollerton Old Hall in Shrop-shire. He now runs a landscape design and garden advisory practice.

He will talk about the Drought Resilient Garden.

Our climate is changing, and our gardens must change with it. How can we adapt our gardening ways and planting style to cope with prolonged dry weather.