ADVICE & TALKS
EVERYDAY
ADVICE
Paul Slater, Garden Designer and Landscape Consultant
We are delighted that Paul Slater has joined the Garden Show Team and will be on hand daily to answer all those tricky gardening issues you may have.
Paul has created hundreds of gardens from small courtyards to grounds of several acres. He has constructed the majority of those himself, giving a unique insight into the realities of creating a garden.
His holistic approach to design ensures a garden has a sense of place, a sense of purpose and meets the clients’ individual needs and style. He combines natural proven materials with contemporary styling to achieve a timeless architectural quality that that sits comfortably in its surroundings and is not constrained by the labels of ‘traditional’ or ‘modern’….. and there is always room nature! Drawing on extensive experience Paul now offers an independent landscaping consultation service to compliment his garden design commissions. Aimed to help clients make the most of their garden or to offer guidance with a project that may have run into difficulties.
Paul is an accredited member of the following professional organisations:
- Member of Chartered Institute of Horticulture
- Member of the Professional Garden Consultants Association.
- Member of the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL)
Some of Paul’s work is featured in industry books and publications and is also used to showcase products on suppliers websites. Recently some work has been shortlisted for the ‘Small Project, Big Impact Awards’.
Paul retrained to follow his passion for garden design after a 23 year military career. Born in Kent, now based on the south coast of Hampshire in his spare time Paul likes to keep active and is a keen motorcyclist. He helps raise funds and awareness of veterans charities and organises the annual Southsea Remembrance Service, the souths largest ‘ride in’ remembrance service on Remembrance Sunday.
Paul can be contacted via his business website:
FRIDAY 1:30PM
TALK
A Pound of Peace
Some are born with silver spoons in their mouths. Michael Forester was born with a pen in his hand. He writes at the fulcrum of perceived reality – that place where our certainties are challenged, where we encounter what we did not know that we knew.
His works range from the inspirational and provocative Forest Rain to the book-length metaphorical epic fantasy poem, Dragonsong; from his exploration of our endangered planet in the travelogue One Journey, to the ever-popular story of his first year with his hearing dog, If It Wasn’t For That Dog.
Readers from all over the world follow Michael’s books – from Australia to the USA, from the Philippines to Wales. A profoundly deaf full-time author and public speaker, Michael lives in the UK between the southern edge of the New Forest and the sea. From here he travels the UK and internationally for public speaking engagements and to sign his books for readers.
Michael’s own life journey has taken him from formative years in charismatic Christianity, through a miraculously-survived suicide attempt and into a spiritual awakening; through the onset of profound deafness to the life-changing arrival of a hearing dog; from the Amazon rain forest to South Africa, from the Himalayas to the Philippines and beyond.
Michael Forester’s books are available at his website www.michaelforester.co.uk and on Amazon.
He is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/michaelforesterauthor
And at Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/michael_forester/
EVERY DAY AT 12PM
TALK
Life changing small gardens - how to make the most of any space
Paul is frequently approached by individuals who believe their small gardens wouldn’t interest a professional garden designer. However, some designers thrive on the challenge of a compact space including Paul! Several previous clients have described their new garden as ‘Life changing’ whether its about creating safe access, or just having somewhere calming, relaxing to sit and benefit from time with nature.
In the UK, the average garden size is a mere 188 square metres, with many urban or coastal gardens even smaller at less than 16 square meters. Yet, in our hectic lives, small can be good offering the perfect opportunity for low-maintenance indoor/outdoor living. With thoughtful planning and a touch of creativity, even the tiniest gardens can become relaxing retreats.
With nearly two decades of experience in designing and creating gardens of every dimension, including expansive 5-acre estates, Paul’s true passion lies in transforming small spaces. His expertise was recognized when he became a finalist in the ‘small project’ category at the Pro-Landscaper awards in 2021 and 2023, a testament to his skill from the UK’s premier landscaping trade magazine.
Paul’s presentations at The Garden Shows will bring practical advice, engaging stories, and inspiring showcases of small but mighty garden designs. He’ll guide you through:
- Small space planning and design.
- Generating ideas for layouts and choosing materials.
- Using vertical surfaces for dramatic effect.
- Selecting high-impact plants.
- Creating an indoor/outdoor ambience.
- Picking the right outdoor furniture.
Catch Paul Slater’s daily midday sessions in the Talk Tent for an energizing dose of green inspiration!
SATURDAY - ALL DAY
ADVICE
The Pest Clinic
Come along and meet the Garden Show’s ‘Bug Man’ – Dr Ian Bedford who will be on hand to discuss plant pest problems and to advise on environmentally safe ways of keeping them under control without harming the environment.
The clinic will have specimens of some of the common pests that we find in our gardens which can be looked at under various magnifiers. Ian will be able to examine samples of damaged plants and pest specimens that you might like to bring along and he’ll aim to identify them for you and discuss the environmentally safer options for controlling them. Ian will happily discuss any concerns that you might have with managing plant pests within your gardens or vegetable patches
Something that’s very topical at the moment is encouraging wildlife into our home garden, and many of the well-known environmentalists (and book writers), have been telling gardeners to stop mowing their lawns and leaving borders to grow wild flowers However, many gardeners I speak to don’t want to replicate the countryside in their home gardens and want them to remain tidy and colourful. However, the majority also would like to help our native wildlife and see it visiting their gardens. My advice is that gardens don’t have to be wild and unkempt in order to benefit the wildlife and can be just as effective and beneficial as the countryside in attracting vast numbers of species by just following a few simple steps. I do this in my own garden and it’s teeming with life.
SATURDAY 1:30PM
TALK
WASPS – Friends or Foes?
For many people, wasps are those yellow and black striped flying bugs that invade our picnics and deliver painful stings if we annoy them. However, without wasps to protect our crops and wildflowers, it’s reckoned that there would be an economic and ecological disaster.
And believe it or not, there are 9,000 species of wasps in Britain, with only 8 species being the social wasps that live within colonies. The others are all species that live solitary lives, creating individual nests where their offspring develop independently.
The social wasps are truly fascinating insects that we call Eusocial, living highly organised lives within a colony and having specific jobs to do.
Dr Ian’s talk will focus on these social wasps, explaining their lifecycle, their ability to solve problems and how we can reduce the potential of them causing us problems, including a demonstration of using ‘The Norfolk Jasper Jab’!
However, he’ll also be highlighting the importance of knowing the signs of an allergy to wasp and bee stings, and the serious danger of an allergic reaction that leads to Anaphylactic shock.
SUNDAY 1:30PM
TALK
British Flowers Rock!
Ben is an award winning 4th generation grower at Crosslands Flower Nursery which was established in 1936 in West Sussex and is one of the last flower nurseries in the UK producing cut flowers in a full colour range all year-round.
Ben’s British Alstroemeria is a very sustainable crop. His flowers are not sprayed with any chemicals after being harvested and go into recyclable, reusable boxes and arrive with customers the next day. No soil cooling techniques are used to force production and some flower beds are over 20 years old, still producing premium quality stems. Under 5% of the crop is replanted a year so sterilizing the soil is kept to a minimum.
The British Alstroemeria is known as a ‘Cool Crop’ and a ‘Dry Crop’ so doesn’t take much heat input or watering. Optimum heat at night through the winter is just 13°C via a biomass boiler and the crop is watered for just 20 minutes once a month in the winter and just 20 minutes once every 10 days in the summer unlike flowers grown in warmer countries that use a lot more water resource.
When Ben’s flowers have been picked they don’t go into big freezers, the cooling storage system at Crosslands is usually turned off between November and March. When the flowers need to be stored in warmer weather they’re only chilled at about 6°C instead of 0.5°C like most imported flowers. They are only stored for a couple of days before they are with the customers. They are a lot fresher than flowers that go all around the world. Most importantly all the stems are harvested at a ‘ripe’ big fat bud stage giving a bigger more vibrant flower unlike the imports that are harvested too tight in bud just so that more can be transported in boats and planes.
Ben also only employs local people and more importantly does apprenticeship schemes with local horticultural colleges and goes into floristry colleges to give his ‘British Flowers Rock’ Talks.
Next to being a fulltime grower, Ben is an avid campaigner for British Flowers and takes any opportunity he can to spread the word that British Flowers Rock!
Crosslands Nursery won Gold at Chelsea Flower show in 2024! Ben has also won the Grower Award in 2019 and 2022 and the Gold Sussex Environmental award in 2020.
Ben donated his blooms to St Richards Hospital and West Sussex care homes during the COVID 19 lockdowns.
You can buy Ben’s flowers by contacting him on his social media channels – @crosslandsalstroemeria on X and Instagram and Crosslands Flower Nursery on Facebook.
DAY & TIME - TBC
TALK
The Healing Garden: How Sound and Nature Restore Body, Mind & Soul
Ideal for: garden lovers, wellness seekers, nature-curious minds, and anyone longing to feel more grounded and alive.
Discover how the garden heals through sound, scent, and stillness. In this inspiring and research-backed talk, Sammie Venn explores the powerful connection between plants, sound therapy, and emotional wellbeing. A soulful blend of science and nature, revealing how gardening and sound therapy can ease anxiety, regulate the nervous system, and reconnect us to the rhythm of life.
Discover how plants respond to sound, how soil boosts serotonin, and why the scent of a rose can heal the heart. With gentle science, poetic insight, and practical rituals, this talk is a beautiful bridge between nature and modern wellbeing.
“The Earth has music for those who listen.”
— Shakespeare
