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
Plant Selection
The right plant in the right place, penny for the plant, a pound for the ground, plant passport scheme, choosing a healthy plant.
Paul Slater - MCIHort, MPGCA Garden Designer and Landscape Consultant
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:
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
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Gardens for NatureWith almost 50% of Britain’s wildlife lost over the last 70 years, it’s important that wherever possible we try and allow nature to recover. Our home gardens can be perfect places for helping this recovery to happen and, contrary to some of the advice we’re given through the media, our home gardens do not need to become wild and unkempt places to achieve this. However, understanding the roles that wildlife play in sustaining ecosystems is something that we do need to know so that we can ensure our gardens provide a safe and welcoming place for wildlife to visit. A ‘steppingstone’ that helps to connect the wild places where wildlife are often restricted in their ability to travel. Knowing which creatures are the beneficials and which are the ones that might need to be deterred from certain garden plants will be important too. Deterring, but not killing, since these plant-eating creatures will be the food of others and are vital for nature’s food chains to establish. Please pop along to my talk where I’ll explain the four ‘S ‘ factors (Suitability, Safety, Structure and Sustenance) that we’ll need to think about when creating a perfect Steppingstone Garden.’
SUNDAY 1:30PM
TALK
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The Garden Show StoryA Trip Down Memory Lane
A rambling chat about Jane’s growing up and family life and how it all led to… the first Garden Show.
The Garden Shows now celebrates three decades despite several elements thrown in their way including occasionally drastic weather and of course Covid when against all odds the shows were held, albeit in the Autumn of 2020.
Thirty years ago, Jane Sterck and Lizzie Dymock were asked to set up a garden show at Stansted Park in Hampshire to create a forum for small businesses. Gardening was becoming more accessible as people realised you didn’t have to be that knowledgeable to make your garden look great and the realisation that no garden was too small to grow. It was an opportunity for local gardeners, designers and artisans to exhibit; particularly those who couldn’t afford the larger, more commercial shows.
The first show consisted of about 30 enthusiastic stands and an art exhibition at Stansted Park. The shows have become a moveable feast at various locations in the south and continue to thrive travelling their own unique garden path. Landscapes have changed but the original essence has held true providing an affordable and good day out whilst talented individuals gain visibility.
Jane’s daughter, Emily Clay, became an integral partner when Lizzie sadly left us and this world in 2015. They both feel the Show’s success has much to do with support of long-suffering family and wonderful friends who are happy to take days off and morph into crew.
Every year the shows have supported many charities, giving them either free or subsidised space and over the years thousands of pounds have been raised for fabulous causes.
The learning curve has been steep but worthwhile. We believe in what we are doing and what we have achieved. We are ever grateful to visitors who continue to support and follow the show and the incredible exhibitors and traders who turn empty grounds into a wonderful show
The Shows continue to celebrate all that is very good about the garden and life itself wherever they are held!
Q & A SESSION
Jane will invite you to ask her questions about Event management and anything else you may like to see at the shows of the future
