speakers & lecturers
If you're a member of a garden club, horticultural society or similar organisation looking for a speaker to give a talk to your members, staff and others, then look no further than the Garden Media Guild members who are speakers and lecturers.
Members of the Garden Media Guild are either well-known writers, authors, photographers, bloggers, social media influencers, or radio or TV presenters. Our directory provides a list of the most popular talks they give – although they may have more – their contact details and fees.
Please note
This is a service for clubs and societies, provided by the Guild. The Garden Media Guild is not responsible for the speakers in any way and we cannot enter into any conversations with the clubs, societies and speakers concerning bookings, or any other matter, or any dispute that may arise from any subsequent bookings.
How to use
You can either see the full list of our members who give talks – simply scroll down the page – or you can search for a speaker.
If you know the name of the speaker you are interested in, type their name in the search box below.
If you're looking for a speaker within a certain distance of your club or society, type your postcode in the box plus the maximum number of miles you're willing for them to travel to you. You can also use the Speaker’s Home Town/City search box.
If you're looking for a specific topic, type this in the Talk Topic box. A list of all the speakers who talk on this subject will be returned.
Showing 1-10 of 13
Virtual Talks Available
Juliet Sargeant
Juliet Sargeant is a multi-award winning garden designer and broadcaster. Fans of BBC Radio 4's Gardeners Question Time, will recognise her as a regular panellist. Juliet runs The Sussex Garden School for creative design, gardening & craft workshops. She is known for her approachable teaching style and inspirational lectures.
Based in: Brighton
Distance willing to travel: 30 miles
Virtual talks available: Yes
Fees: To be arranged
Talks:
From Small Acorns : The Making of a Chelsea Garden
The Making of The New Blue Peter Garden: Discover Soil
How to Share your Garden with Wildlife
Garden Stories and Design Inspiration
Why Gardens Matter
Contact
Alan Sargent
Based in:
Distance willing to travel:
Virtual talks available: No
Fees:
Talks:
Contact
Virtual Talks Available
Becky Searle
Becky Searle is an ecologist turned garden writer and speaker. She combines her knowledge of ecology with a simple and approachable presentation to explain natural and sustainable gardening techniques and processes. Becky is is particularly passionate about soil and encouraging wildlife into our gardens.
Based in: Exeter
Distance willing to travel: 100 miles
Virtual talks available: Yes
Fees: £150 plus travel @ 45ppm
Talks:
No Dig Gardening and How it Works - a deep dive into how the soil works as an ecosystem, and how we can get the soil to work for us.
Creating Wildlife Gardens - How to create a garden that is great for you and great for wildlife.
Sustainable Gardening - a look at how we can use our gardens as a force for good to bolster local biodiversity and reduce our impact on the planet.
Regenerative Gardening - an introduction to regenerative gardening, what it is, how it works and how we can become regenerative gardeners.
Resilient Gardening - How we can future proof our gardens in a changing climate.
Contact
Virtual Talks Available
Barbara Segall
Garden writer, editor, author, lecturer
Based in: Sudbury, Suffolk
Distance willing to travel: Negotiable but mainly in East Anglia and Home Counties
Virtual talks available: Yes
Fees: £150 - £190 plus 45p per mile (depending on current fuel prices) PLUS accommodation if necessary. Zoom talks from £100
Talks:
My Top Ten (or more) Herbs
Secret Gardens of the South East
Secret Gardens of East Anglia
Desert Island Gardens
Garden Chasing in Japan
Garden Visiting: why do we do it?
Writing a Garden Book
Contact
Ade Sellars
Ade is available for garden talks, clubs and society meetings. He regularly gives talks around the country. Appearances include: BBC Gardeners’ World Live, RHS Wisley Flower Show, RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival, Toby Buckland Garden Festival, Woburn Abbey Flower Show and RHS Cardiff Flower Show.
Based in: Suffolk
Distance willing to travel: Providing travel costs, and if necessary, overnight accommodation costs.
Virtual talks available: No
Fees: Given on enquiry.
Talks:
- Leading the Good Life
- Building a Kitchen Garden
- It's Never Too Late to Change Paths
Contact
Virtual Talks Available
Marie Shallcross
Based in: Westerham
Distance willing to travel:
Virtual talks available: Yes
Fees:
Talks:
Contact
Virtual Talks Available
Steffie Shields M.B.E
Garden photographer, author and historic landscape consultant, gardening feature writer, GMG Awards finalist ‘Inspirational Book of the Year 2016’ for illustrated book ‘Moving Heaven and Earth: Capability Brown's Gift of Landscape’ (Unicorn Press). Vice-President, The Gardens Trust; M.B.E (2018) for services to conservation and heritage.
Based in: Grantham
Distance willing to travel: up for discussion
Virtual talks available: Yes
Fees: on application
Talks:
‘CAPABILITY’ BROWN and THE GIFT of LANDSCAPE
The life and work of Capability Brown – his natural style of landscape creation and his architecture.
‘CAPABILITY’ BROWN – THE LINCOLNSHIRE CONNECTION
Newly discovered biographical evidence about Brown and his Lincolnshire commissions
MY GREEN STUDIO
A garden restoration with photography in mind
BLOOMIN' LOVELY
Flower portraiture and garden photography techniques
IMPRESSIONS of LINCOLNSHIRE
A pictorial journey through the county of Lincolnshire including its historic parks and gardens
HAVE GARDEN - WILL TRAVEL
Gardening lessons learned - 19 house moves in England, Scotland, Europe & USA!
THE ARTIST IN THE GARDEN
A commentary on historic and contemporary garden designers.
'CAPABILITY' BROWN, THE SHAKESPEARE OF GARDEN ARTS
How Brown's landscapes were influenced by the eighteenth century rise of theatre
A PROFUSION OF WATER
focuses on the engineering work of 'Capability' Brown
HE PAINTS AS HE PLANTS
trees and shrubs in 'Capability' Brown's portfolio
CAPITAL ‘CAPABILITY’
Brown’s London Commissions
ANTIQUARIAN DOCTOR WILLIAM STUKELEY - AN 18C GARDEN DESIGNER?
Contact
Julie Skelton
Originally from a teaching and training background, Julie has carved out a successful career as a garden photographer and enjoys sharing her top tips for creating beautiful garden images.
Based in: Guildford
Distance willing to travel: 25 miles
Virtual talks available: No
Fees: £75 / 30 minute talk
Talks:
* Offering photography advice to get the best out of your camera or smartphone, and to raise the standard of your garden images.
* How garden photography can benefit our mental and physical health.
* Some of my own favourite images, how I captured them, and why they work.
Contact
Virtual Talks Available
Kathy Slack
Passionate speaker and cookery demonstrator specialising in home grown food and the mental health benefits of growing your own food.
Based in: Oxford
Distance willing to travel: Anywhere!
Virtual talks available: Yes
Fees: Flexible
Talks:
How Vegetable Saved my Life
Grow Yourself Happy
Tales from the Veg Patch
Easy Seasonal Meals
How to Grow your own Dinner
Getting started with Growing Food
Nature Cure
Contact
Virtual Talks Available
Tony Spencer
Tony Spencer is the Canadian writer, photographer, speaker and planting designer behind The New Perennialist. He is recognized and published internationally in the world of naturalistic landscape and garden design as a communicator, documenter and sharer of ideas for this movement with over 75k followers on social media.
Based in: TORONTO
Distance willing to travel: Overseas
Virtual talks available: Yes
Fees: Contact tony@thenewperennialist.com for 2024 speaking fees
Talks:
– Wildscaping: Explorations in Naturalistic Planting Design
– Open Source: Origins of the New Perennial Movement
Contact