His profile reads: "I have been interested in plants all my life, as both gardener and botanist, and hold a first class degree in botany and doctorate in African forest ecology from Oxford University. My Tanzanian connections remain important, and I’m proud to be an honorary elder of the Maasai community of Lerang’wa, Tanzania. African plants remain an important botanical interest, but I’m fascinated by all plants and have grown a huge diversity in my gardens. I have travelled widely to see plants growing in habitat. My first book was The Gardener’s Atlas (1998), recounting the journeys plants have made from their source to our gardens.

Working in The Netherlands for the seed company K. Sahin, Zaden. B.V., where I was responsible for developing perennials and other plants for the seed trade, gave me invaluable experience of commercial horticulture and management. Following that I was Gardens Manager at Colesbourne Park, Gloucestershire, 2003-2012, where I was responsible for maintaining and developing the historic Elwes family garden, especially the snowdrop collection. I am co-author of the monograph Snowdrops (2002) with M Bishop & A Davis, published by my company, Griffin Press. Between 2004-2009 I was principal author of a major book on trees introduced in the past 35 years, entitled New Trees, Recent Introductions to Cultivation, with co-author Ross Bayton, sponsored by the International Dendrology Society. It was published by RBG Kew, in May 2009.

In August 2012 I became Director of The Yorkshire Arboretum, North Yorkshire, with responsibility for the 120 acre arboretum and 20 acre Ray Wood, on the Castle Howard estate. This involves a wide range of management and administrative duties, fundraising and networking as well as active curation of the extensive collection. I am a member of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Advisory Group on Nomenclature and Taxonomy, and is Vice-chair of the Woody Plant Committee. In 2012 I led the RHS review of the Award of Garden Merit."

Katy is The Hepworth Wakefield Gardens' Cultural Gardener. Alongside Tom Stuart-Smith, Katy has been working on the planting of the garden and will have responsibility for maintaining it, as well as working with their learning team to devise an exciting outdoor programme. Katy has worked in some of the best gardens in the UK and USA including Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh at Logan, Dumfries & Galloway and Longwood Gardens: Pennsylvania, USA. Katy studied Fine Art at Newcastle University and has conducted freelance projects for galleries across Newcastle as well as leading a programme of family and engagement events in a wide range of gardens and art spaces.

Lucy Bellamy

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Anne Britt

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Garden Design

Please bring loose cash to buy your plants - £20 notes are not helpful because they will take all our float. Plants will NOT be sold until after the tables have been set out and announcements have been made. A drink and homemade cake will cost £2.50 and please come back for seconds for a small donation.

If you are donating plants please label them, so that we know what they are. To make cheap labels you can cut up a milk carton and write on it with a CD pen or other permanent marker.

Razwan Chisu

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Andy Sturgeon

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Speaker TBC

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