To book a talk, please send an email or use the contact form. Most can be given as

Zoom presentations

 

“Andrew has a unique style of presentation which made his talk entertaining, informative and memorable…”
Biddenham Garden Club

 

“Members were delighted by the information, the confidence and audibility of the presentation

and the humour”

Onecote Bloomers Gardening Group

 

“Loads of information and a lively delivery. Your talk was much appreciated!”

Mickleton Garden Club

 

“You have definitely inspired the group...”

Nottingham Hardy Plant Society

 

“Thank you so much for a most enjoyable talk yesterday evening.

There was a noticeable buzz in the hall after your talk...”

Evenley Gardening Society

 

“[A] delightful presentation delivered with great panache, wit, style  but above all...in depth horticultural knowledge”

Harpenden Gardening Society

 

 

Talks, demos and workshops

NEW Do your roots need doing?   Good root growth is essential for healthy and productive plants. How can you be sure your plants are performing well under ground when you can't even see them

NEW Gardening in the 2020s   Adapting to a changing climate and the movement away from use of pesticides, fungicides and weedkillers

Lamport Hall and its gardens
    Lamport is famous as the home of garden gnomes – but how did they get there?

Plants for free (demonstration/workshop)
*    Propagating plants – how to collect and prepare seed and take cuttings, plus – cutting up bulbs! Autumn only

Topical tips for the season
    Content depends on time of year – plants to enjoy, gardens to visit, pruning (or not!), likely pests and diseases, etc.

Plants for shade 
    Gardeners often wonder what to plant in a shady spot – in fact, the possibilities are endless!



Hellebores   
    The botany of these star performers and how to choose, grow and propagate them

Container gardening (demonstration)*

Unkindest cut? (pruning demonstration)*

The garden at York Gate, Leeds 
    Created by the Spencer family, this beautiful garden is now maintained by Perennial,  the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society

Apples
    Britain's favourite fruit. The history of apples, apples in commerce, and why we should be growing them in gardens

Shakespeare's plants and gardens   
    Plants and gardens had a particular importance to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Looking at the restoration project at Kenilworth Castle in particular, we explore what plants meant to the Elizabethans

Gardens of the USA
    A look at the history of gardening in the US, including some contemporary gardens designed by Martha Schwartz and Isabelle Greene, with a flying visit to Hollywood

Pin me to the wall – and do what you want with me
    How to choose and manage climbers and wall shrubs

'Come into the garden, Maud'
    The gardens of Victorian England

Roses
    Their place in history – and which are the best varieties for the garden today

Permaculture for gardeners  

March of the women    Who are the notable women gardeners of the past - and today? Includes some American gardeners

 Right plant, right place    What to grow where, in other words...

Conifers  Their botany and history, how to choose, plant and care for them, and their place in garden design

Plants as pets   Choosing and caring for houseplants

Trees!   We should all be planting more trees. How do you decide which is/are best for you?

 

*Not suitable for Zoom

 

 


CALENDAR

2023

 

January 9

Adel Gardeners' Club

Hellebores

January 10

Ockbrook and Borrowash Gardeners' Club

Plants for Shade

January 17

Oakely Gardening Club

Roses

January 18

Mickleton Gardening Club

Roses

January 19

Bledlow Ridge Horticultural Society

Hellebores

February 6

Harwell Gardening Club

Permaculture

February 8

Appleton & Eaton Gardening Club

Shakespeare's Plants & Gardens

February 14

Long Buckbv Gardening Club

Plants as Pets

February 16

Welford Gardening Club

TBC

February 18

Somersham Garden Club

Right Plant, Right Place

February 27

Sulgrave Gardening Club

"Pin Me to the Wall..."

 

March 7

Tanworth-in-Arden Gardening Club

Hellebores

March 13

Denton and District Gardening Club

'Do Your Roots Need Doing"

March 22

Kennington Horticultural Society

Plants for Shade

March 23

Hagbourne Garden Club

"Pin Me to the Wall..."

March 28

Textile History Group

March of the Women

 

April 6

Hose Garden Club

Container Gardening

April 13

Prestwood Gardening Club

Right Plant, Right Place

April 17

Burton Dassett Gardening Club

Roses

April 19

Leamington Spa Horticultural Society

Roses

April 20

Clifton Gardening Club

Hellebores

April 27

Kinver Horticultural Society

Roses

 

May 4 (morning)

Perennial Gardening Club

The Gardens of Lamport Hall

May 9

Winslow & District Gardening Society

Plants for Shade

May 16

Biddenham Gardeners' Association

Trees

May 22

Mawsley Gardening for All

Come in the Garden, Maud

June 8

Blunsdon Village Garden Club

Right Plant, Right Place

June 13

Wing Garden Club

Plants for Shade

June 15

Bollington & District Horticultural Society

"Do Your Roots Need Doing?"

 

July 20

Odell Gardening Club

Pruning

 

September 4 (afternoon)

Barwell Garden Club

Right Plant, Right Place

September 5

Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor Gardening Club

Permaculture

September 12

Marlow & District Horticultural Society

Shakespeare's Plants & Gardens

September 27

Cookham Dean Horticultural Society

Do Your Roots Need Doing?

 

October 3

Great Haseley Gardening Club

Plants for Free!

October 4

Barrow upon Soar Gardening Club

Plants for Free!

October 10

Harpenden Gardening Society

Topical Tips

Abingdon Horticultural Society

Gardening in the 2020s

October 19

Wolstron Garden Club

Apples

 

November 1

Stathern Gardening Club

'Pin Me to the Wall...'/TBC

November 7

Kimble & Ellesborough Horticultural Society

Roses

November 8

Wolverhamton Horticultural Society (with Tendershoots Garden Network)

'Do Your Roots Need Doing?'

November 16

Bledlow Ridge Horticultural Society

Gardens of the USA

November 28

North Leigh Gardening Society

Gardening in the 2020s

 

December 11

Heyford Garden Club

TBC

 

 

 

2024

 

January 18

Odell Gardening Club

TBC

 

January 27

Lincolnshire Hardy Plant Sociey

"Do Your Roots Need Doing?"

Watlington Gardening Club

Hellebores

 

Evenley Gardening Society

Apples

May 29

Southport Chyrsanthemum and Gardening Society

Pruning/TBC

 

June 6

Ballinger Horticultural Society

The March of the Women

 

June 27

Amersham Gardening Association

Shakespeare's Plants & Gardens

 

June 28

Tettenhall Gardening Club

Shakespeare's Plants & Gardens

 

August 28

Grove Garden and Local History Club

Gardening in the 2020s

 

September 2 (afternoon)

Barwell Gardening Club

Hellebores

 

October 9

Stoke Goldington Gardeners' Club

Right Plant, Right Place

 

October 16

Castle Eaton Gardening Club

Plants for Free!

 

November 1

Market Bosworth Gardening Club

Do your roots need doing?

 

November 13

Lechdale Gardening Club

Permaculture