GROW LONDON’S EXPERT SPEAKERS 2014

Meet the gardening gurus who led the talks at GROW London in June 2014.

James Alexander Sinclair, who will be speaking at the GROW London Garden Fair in JuneJAMES ALEXANDER-SINCLAIR
Garden and landscape designer, writer, television presenter and of course GROW London guest speaker, James Alexander-Sinclair wears many hats, although only ever one when he is gardening (we snapped him in a rare hatless moment, left).

James specialises in designing large country gardens and, as we found out recently, his favourite job in the garden happens to be weeding.

 

 

Chris Beardshaw, who will be speaking at the GROW London Garden Fair in JuneCHRIS BEARDSHAW
Chris’s broadcasting career spans nearly 15 years across both television and radio. Principally trained in Landscape Architecture and separately as a horticulturalist, Chris specialises in bespoke garden designs from large public spaces to domestic private gardens.

As if that wasn’t enough, Chris has won over 15 RHS medals and written a number of books, as well as being a regular contributor to gardening magazines.

 

 

Steve Benbow of the London Honey Company, Speaker at GROW LondonSTEVE BENBOW
Fourteen years ago Steve started keeping bees on the roof of a six-storey ex-council block near Tower Bridge. By the following year, he had hives tucked into all sorts of odd locations around the city.

Now he manages hives all over the UK and The London Honey Company sell their fine honeys throughout the country.

 

 

Val Bourne, garden writer, photographer and lecturer, who will be leading a talk at GROW London in JuneVAL BOURNE
Another of our award-winning speakers, Val is a garden writer, photographer and lecturer. She writes for The Daily Telegraph and Saga Magazine, is the gardening correspondent for The Oxford Times and judges the perennial and dahlia trials at RHS Wisley.

Busy as she is, she told us recently that she takes half an hour every morning just to look at her garden, trying to notice something new. What a wonderful philosophy.

 

 

 

Thomas Broom, who will be speaking at the GROW London garden fair this June

THOMAS BROOM
Tom started gardening in childhood, but it was after 15 years in the aviation industry that he decided to follow his dream and enrolled himself a Capel Manor College to learn floristry.

As horticulture manager at the renowned Petersham Nurseries, Tom is passionate about plant provenance and an ardent campaigner for British-grown flowers.

 

 

Christine Chang Hanway, GROW London SpeakerCHRISTINE CHANG HANWAY
Renowned writer, editor and architect, Christine Chang Hanway is the UK editor of Remodelista and contributing editor of Gardenista.

She believes good design should be accessible to everyone, and writes Remodelista’s Rehab Diaries and the Architect/Designer Is In.

 

 

 

Garden designer Shane Connolly, who will be speaking at the GROW London garden fair in JuneSHANE CONNOLLY
Acclaimed floral designer Shane Connolly has been creating artisan floral arrangements for over 25 years, after training with some of London’s leading flower designers and setting up his own company in 1989.

As well as speaking at the fair, Shane is also dressing the GROW London marquee. Prepare for something spectacular!

 

Mark Diacono, who will be speaking at the GROW London Garden Fair this JuneMARK DIACONO
Dwarf kiwis, sweet cicely and chocolate vines are just a few of the exciting crops Mark has grown at his organic Devon smallholding, Otter Farm.

He has also written four award winning books, including A Taste of the Unexpected, which won the Guild of Food Writers’ Food Book of the Year 2011.

 

 

 

 

Dawn Isaac, who will running children's activities at the GROW London Garden Fair in JuneDAWN ISAAC
Not only is Dawn the horticultural adviser to an award-winning Cbeebies show, she is also a RHS Chelsea medal-winning garden designer specialising in designing family, school and pre-school gardens.

Her second book, 101 Things for Children to do Outside, was published in March.

 

 

 

 

Tom Moggach, who is speaking at the GROW London garden fair this JuneTOM MOGGACH
Londoner Tom Moggach is a gardener, food writer, teacher, author of The Urban Kitchen Gardener and founder of City Leaf – an organisation that trains people how to grow and cook with home-grown produce.

He has written for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and BBC 4’s The Food Programme.

 

 

 

 

Naomi Schillinger, who will speaking at the GROW London Garden Fair this JuneNAOMI SCHILLINGER
Naomi is a gardener, writer, photographer, and the author of Veg Street.

Veg Street is her first book and is a month-by-month guide to growing veg in urban front gardens and small spaces, which was inspired by the North London community veg growing project she helped set up.

 

 

 

 

 

Matthew Wilson, who will be speaking at the GROW London Garden Fair in JuneMATTHEW WILSON
The MD of London’s Clifton Nurseries, Matthew has years of experience in the industry and was previously RHS Head of Gardens Creative Design.

He writes for the Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph and numerous gardening magazines, and presented Channel 4 series The Landscape Man.