Celebrating the launch of the National Trust’s Book of Nature Friendly Gardening, the Garden Museum is hosting a conversation on December 2 between five professional gardeners who have all been on their own journeys to adapt the way they garden in light of the twin climate and biodiversity crises.
Our expert panel are: Matthew Pottage, Head of Horticulture and Landscape Strategy at The Royal Parks; Kate Bradbury, a garden writer and broadcaster who specializes in wildlife gardening; Sean Harkin, Head Gardener at the Inner Temple Gardens in London where he has been evolving the historic Garden to combine biodiversity and beauty; Rebecca Bevan, the National Trust’s Specialist for Environmental Horticulture.
Their conversation will be chaired by Sheila Das, Head of Gardens at the National Trust, bringing insights of her own from her deep love of food growing and nurturing soil health. £10 Livestream. Book HERE.
The Gardens Trust Wednesday webinar series this Autumn will focus on head gardeners working at historic sites. This is the first lecture of the second set of five talks, exploring how individual head gardeners are balancing the heritage of their site, the wishes of its owner(s) and their own interests and experience. We’ll hear about the role from both seasoned head gardeners and those more recently appointed. Learn about the challenges they face, including climate change, as well as the joys of horticulture and heritage. you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £20 via the link here. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.
On October 25, join Sheila Das. RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey is the flagship of the Royal Horticultural Society, as well as its oldest and most horticulturally diverse garden. It is also one of the UK’s most visited gardens, attracting about around 1.4 million visitors each year. The gardens are maintained by a team of around 70 permanent staff and a cohort of 33 school of horticulture learners on practical training programs in the garden. The team is supported by over 100 garden volunteers. The garden has expanded hugely to its current size of 185 acres since it was gifted to the Society in 1903. From the start, Wisley has always been about Plantsmanship and experimentation, and it has continued to evolve in accordance with the Society’s needs and in response to the changing environment. RHS Hilltop – the Home of Gardening Science is the newest addition to the site, opened in 2021, alongside three new gardens, a new Welcome building and continued investment into beautiful planting.
Having changed career in 2006, Sheila Das completed the Kew Diploma and then went on to work for English Heritage at Wrest Park. She is now a Garden Manager at RHS Garden Wisley with responsibility for the garden’s practical training programs, the Members’ Seed Scheme and the Edibles and Wellbeing gardens. Alongside her focus on horticultural education, Sheila has a keen interest in sustainable gardening particularly with relevance to growing food.
