Henleaze Garden Club
 

Sally Morgan is an organic gardener, writer and speaker who runs a smallholding in Somerset, where she runs courses on vegetable growing and self-sufficiency.  She is co-author of The Climate Change Garden. She is passionate about creating a healthy and productive growing space, and loves to experiment with new plants. 

Rachel is a broadcaster, writer and passionate gardener.  Trained at The English Gardening School, she has been a regular presenter on BBC2’s Gardeners’ World since 1999.  Rachel is also a long-term member of the team providing coverage of all the major RHS Flower Shows. She has written three gardening books and is a regular columnist for the RHS magazine and other gardening publications.

Many will remember Andy from our visit to Sandhill Farm, his Hampshire garden, in 2024.   He will advise us what to grow which has a greater chance of surviving extremes of weather.  We seem to be experiencing waterlogged soil conditions due to continuous winter rain followed by spring drought and high temperatures.  What is likely to suffer and what will thrive?

Vanessa will recount the history of the National Garden Scheme and its links to Macmillan Cancer Support and other nursing charities.  As County Organiser for the NGS in Gloucestershire, she is well placed to explain the criteria for including a garden; what makes it suitable and importantly, what it means for the garden opener.

Sol is Flower Farm Manager at the Heart of BS13, a social enterprise growing produce to generate income to fund and support its volunteer programme and offer accredited training and skills to local residents. They are tackling the climate emergency through local sustainable flower production, while addressing health inequality and creating access to learning and employment in BS13.

Neil is the leading specialist of ornamental grasses in the UK and Director of Knoll Gardens in Dorset.  His fabulous garden showcases a myriad of grass varieties and many other beautiful perennials in a naturalistic setting to showcase biodiversity and his sustainable garden practices.

Mankind has exploited the medicinal properties of plants for thousands of years.  In this talk Tim Walker, former Director of Oxford Botanic Gardens & accomplished speaker, will show that plants are used regularly to relieve suffering & cure diseases.

Since retirement as Head of Collections and Archives for Bristol museums, Ray has focussed his attention on highlighting the sad decline of insects in Britain, especially moths which are his specialist subject. What has caused this terrible decline and how can we, as gardeners, help insect recovery?

Multi award winning Bristol based  garden designer Jane Porter  (Planty Projects) will explain the techniques used in 'sand planting' and tell us why it has a place in modern  gardening

What do gardeners talk about more than anything else? The weather, of course! It's one of the biggest factors in determining the success or failure of our gardening year. We can't control the weather, but a better understanding of the microclimates within our gardens can help us make the best of whatever comes our way. Weatherman and Gardeners' Question Time host Peter Gibbs takes us on a tour of the surprising variations we can find within even the smallest plot, explains how this 'weather intelligence' makes it easier to put 'the right plant in the right place' and gives some insight into what's ahead for gardeners in our rapidly changing climate.