SPEAKER EVENTS 2019-2020

• Generally each Meeting is booked for the 4th Saturday each month unless affected by Bank Holidays.
• We meet to hear a range of Speakers from January to April, then September to November. 
• Our doors generally open at 2.00 pm ready for the talks ​to start promptly at 2.30 pm, unless otherwise indicated. 
• All are welcome - group members are free and visitors cost £3.50, unless they join at the Meeting, where the cost of their entrance is refunded 

Read more about the Group and what happens at our Meetings

Date and Time of Meeting	Speaker	More about the Speaker	Title of Talk
Saturday 26th January 2019 ​at 2.00 pm AGM then speaker starts at 2.30 pm	AGM followed by Lyn Miles	​Lyn has a collection of over 200 named varieties of snowdrop, plus drifts of singles and doubles throughout her garden.  She  is Chair of the HPS Galanthus Group.	For the Love of Snowdrops
Saturday 23rd February 2019 ​at 2.30 pm	​Rosy Hardy	Her display in Chelsea's Great Pavilion showcases some of their favourite varieties, as well as their new introductions, all planted with such artistry that the Hardys have won 20 Chelsea Gold Medals.   Bringing plants to sell.	Seasonal Plants
Saturday 23rd March 2019      ​at 2.30 pm	Mike Webber	Value	Botanic Gardens from the Arctic to the Tropics
Saturday 27th April 2019 ​at 2.30 pm	Katherine Crouch	​In 2008 Katherine won the BBC Gardener of the Decade competition.  She set up Katherine Crouch Garden Design and has since been designing gardens all over the South West.	Plants that should be Better Known
Wednesday 25th September 2019 at 7.30 pm	Charles Dowding	The acclaimed innovator of no dig, organic growing since 1983, and of new ways to crop salad leaves.  He has written nine books, writes for national and international magazines, appears on TV and radio including BBC Gardeners’ World, and teaches extensively at home and abroad.	No Dig Philosophy on gardening
Saturday 26th October 2019 ​at 2.00 pm TICKET ONLY	​Fergus Garrett	Fergus became Head Gardener at Great Dixter in 1992, beginning a long, fruitful association with Christopher Lloyd.  He is an author and lectures extensively, but mostly works full-time, hands-on in the garden, with people who come from all over the world to train at Dixter.	Designing with Plants the Great Dixter way
Saturday 23rd November 2019 at 2.30 pm	Andrew Haynes	Andrew, the President of our Dorset Group, is Head Gardener at Edmondsham House, where there are 6 acres of grounds and a large Victorian walled garden which is managed organically using no-dig vegetable beds.	Really useful Plants
Saturday 25th January 2020 ​at 2.30 pm	Bob Gibbons	Bob has been described as 'one of Britain's best naturalists'.  After many years working in nature conservation, he is now a freelance author, photographer, lecturer, and leads numerous hugely popular tours to many destinations.	From Orchids to Pitcher Plants - the extraordinary flora of Newfoundland
Saturday 24th March 2020 ​all day	Speakers to be announced	Dorset will be hosting the National Hardy Plant Society AGM	More details to follow

2018-2019

Date and Time of Meeting	Speaker	More about the Speaker	Title of Talk
Saturday 27th January 2018 ​at 2.30 pm	Helen Yemm	Famous for writing the Telegraph's Thorny problems column	Inspiration for Late Summer Colour
Saturday 24th February 2018 ​at 2.00 pm EARLY START	AGM followed by ​Ray Broughton	Ray is a horticultural scientist and lecturer with over 30 years of experience, currently teaching at RHS Wisley.	Pests and Diseases
Saturday 7th April 2018            ​at 2.30 pm	David Hurrion	Deputy Editor of the BBC Gardeners World Magazine, and broadcaster	The Answer Lies in the Soil
Saturday 28th April 2018 ​at 2.30 pm	Mary Payne	Writer, garden designer, broadcaster	Compton Acres - Revisited
Wednesday 26th September 2018 at 7.30 pm	Alan Edmondson replacing Nick Gilbert	Alan is an RHS speaker and contributes regularly to Radio Solent's "The Kitchen Garden" programme. He is a positive expert with masses of experience.	Primulas and Auriculas
Saturday 27th October 2018 ​at 2.30 pm	​Jon Evans	​	Autumn at Blackthorn Nursery
Saturday 24th November 2018 at 2.30 pm TICKET ONLY	James Alexander Sinclair	Garden designer, award winning writer, an accredited judge at the RHS Shows and Chair of the RHS Gardens Committee	An Afternoon With  ​James Alexander Sinclair

2017-2018

Date and Time of Meeting	Speaker	More about the Speaker	Title of Talk
Saturday 25th March 2017 ​at 2.30 pm	Ken Thompson	​Plant Biologist, lecturer, author and Telegraph columnist	Dealing with Plants that Behave Badly
Saturday 29th April 2017 ​at 2.30 pm	Kevin Hughes	Owner of Heale House Nursery which specialises in unusual plants and shrubs	Stars of the Spring Garden
Saturday 30th September 2017 ​at 2.30 pm	Marina Christopher	Owner of Phoenix Perennials Nursery and supplier of plants to many RHS Show Gardens	Gardening with Gravel
Saturday 28th October 2017 ​at 2.30 pm TICKET ONLY (Last few remaining)	Roy Lancaster	RHS President, Broadcaster and celebrated Plant Hunter	A Life of Plants
Saturday 25th November 2017 at 2.30 pm	Neil Lucas	Owner of Knoll Gardens & Nursery, local specialists in grasses	Using Perennials in the Modern Garden