Download PDFSpring 2009 Programme

Each day at Llanover Garden School begins at 10am with coffee or tea, ahead of the morning session at 10.30am. A seated two course lunch will be served with wine or elderflower, before the afternoon presentation. The day will end with homemade teas and another opportunity to talk and walk around Llanover Gardens.

Thursday 26th February
Jekka McVicar - Herbs for all reasons
Do you have problems with moths, sleepless nights, dry stony borders? The solution could be herbal. Jekka will speak about the numerous uses of herbs; culinary, medicinal, and decorative, using fresh plant material from her celebrated organic herb farm, where she cultivates more than 600 different herbs.

Michael Marriott - Roses in the garden
Using knowledge gained from decades working for David Austin Roses, Michael will recommend roses for different conditions and situations in the garden. He will single out the merits of his favourites and name roses to avoid.

Wednesday 4th March
Mary Payne - Minimum effort, maximum effect
Mary is a landscape designer, whose innovative planting designs have been admired both at the Chelsea flower show and at Lady Farm in Somerset, where she was responsible for the prairie style planting. Mary will give a light-hearted look at how to make our gardens easier to manage, offering tips on plants to grow and plants to avoid as well as suggestions about design.

Bob Brown - Good plants for difficult places
Bob is the passionately knowledgeable and entertaining plantsman who owns Cotswold Garden Flowers. His nursery is known for a plant list which is exceptional both for the variety and the quantity of plants listed. Bob travels worldwide in search of unusual plants, noting in detail their native environment, so when he brings the seed home he has an excellent idea of the conditions in which the plant will thrive.

Tuesday 10th March
Laura de Beden - How to design a border
Laura is a tutor and lecturer at the Inchbald School of Design. She runs her own landscape practice in between her numerous lecture and writing commitments. She will suggest ways to design or update borders. Planting schemes, plant qualities and case studies designed to meet varying different needs and resolve specific problems will be discussed.

Anthony Noel - Fabulous foliage
Anthony, an actor turned landscape designer, author and international speaker, has an enduring sense of the theatrical, which influences his use of colour, shape and texture. He will talk about the use of foliage in the garden and containers to create dramatic effects.

Thursday 12th March
Photography workshop with David Lloyd and Annie Besant
Come and learn the secrets of lighting, styling and designing magazine quality photographs from David, nominated Photographer of the Year in 2004 for his still lives and landscape studies. The workshop will include illustrated presentations, a portfolio clinic and personal tuition. Bring your own camera.

Friday 20th March
Anne Swithinbank - Gardening under cover
Using a greenhouse, cold frames, cloches or a conservatory, Anne will show how to make the best use of protected space and to prepare young plants for vegetable beds or mixed borders. Anne, a veteran presenter of Gardeners' Question Time, will also pass on her recommended techniques to overcome regular greenhouse problems such as pests and temperature control. Popular indoor plants such as citrus, bird of paradise and moth orchids will be covered.

Sally Gregson - Hydrangeas and their friends
Hydrangeas are enjoying a resurgence in popularity as a greater diversity of species and forms are becoming available. From the buxom mopheads and lacecaps of the traditional Hydrangea macrophylla, through a wealth of species, to the delicate Japanese H. serrata, they bring flower to the late summer garden and brilliant colour to the autumn. Sally will de-mystify their growing conditions and chameleon ways, and talk about plants that would associate well with them.