Gardeners Question Time

2:30 pm in the Talk Tent

One of the highlights of the Hampshire Country & Garden Festival will be a ‘Gardeners’ Question Time’. Chaired by Stefan Buczacki, well known former panelist and Chairman on Radio 4’s ‘Gardeners’ Question Time’ he also wrote and presented ‘The Gardening Quiz’ on Radio 4. One of the most experienced and prolific non-fiction authors in the country, he has written around sixty books.

One of our speakers Rosy Hardy will be joined on the Panel by David Jewell, Head of Collections at The Hillier Arboretum, which jointly in 2017 won the Best in Category award with (Osborne House, Isle of Wight) for the Heritage Park/Garden of the Year award. Previously, David was Floral Superintendent at R.H.S. Wisley, and is a contributor to The R.H.S. Garden Journal. He also lectures on horticulture through out the U.K. They will also be joined by Jez Stamp, one half of JamesonStamp, Jez is a plantsman and garden designer. Jez is an RHS prize winner, he won the Institute of Horticulture Young Horticulturist of the Year in 2014 and is a gardening expert on BBC Radio Bristol. He worked as a nurseryman for a number of his formative years plus a stint as a researcher on BBC Gardeners’ World and has run a hands on garden design and development company for the last 7 years.

Festival Speakers

Come and be inspired by our wonderful speakers;

we are really thrilled to be bringing you such a wide variety of talks this year.

Hosted by Georgie Palmer

PROGRAMME

Running free, swimming wild with Jude Palmer

10:15 am

As a trail running and open water swimming coach, explorer and lover of the great outdoors, Jude gets her kicks from inspiring others to get outside and discover their own adventures, whether they are absolute beginners, have been round the hill a few times or they are ready to swim the channel.

She is a passionate believer in supporting people to connect with the landscape and themselves and sees the benefits a regular dose of the green stuff brings to her own and other’s mental and physical health. Whether that is dipping into the icy winter waters of their local river or putting one foot in front of the other for 100 miles, it all counts. For her, there is nothing better than seeing someone do something they didn’t think they could.

People work with Jude for her down to earth approach, skill in helping people realise their goals, her broad experience of coaching sport and business and her belief that if it is fun, it is fun.

Jude is a regular contributor to Outdoor Swimmer magazine and hosts the Trail Zone at the National Running Shows.

She is known for her long stripy socks, penchant for running in rubber and for her love of cold water.

To find out more about Jude, go to www.runsurreyhills.com or follow her on IG and FB as @runsurreyhills

Power of Breath with Amber Macintosh

11:00 am

Our breath has the ability to affect nearly every facet of our mental and physical being and yet we often take it for granted. The experience of the past year has taught us that now is the time to regain control and influence our well-being by learning about the power of breath. In this workshop Amber will give simple exercises to help you to expand lung capacity and balance the nervous system in ways that are suitable for everyone and with some fun thrown in.

Amber is a yoga, breathwork and nutrition coach – www.dandelionwellbeing.com

The Well Gardened Mind with Sue Stuart-Smith

11:30 am

How can gardening relieve stress and help us look after our mental health? What lies behind the restorative power of the natural world?

Kindly sponsored by Rosebourne

In a powerful combination of contemporary neuroscience, psychoanalysis and brilliant storytelling, The Well Gardened Mind investigates the magic that many gardeners have known for years – working with nature can radically transform our health, wellbeing and confidence. www.suestuartsmith.com

Sue Stuart-Smith, a prominent psychiatrist and psychotherapist, took her degree in English literature at Cambridge before qualifying as a doctor. She worked in the National Health Service for many years, becoming the lead clinician in psychotherapy in Hertfordshire. She currently teaches at The Tavistock Clinic in London and is consultant to the DocHealth service. She is married to Tom Stuart-Smith, the celebrated garden designer, and, over 30 years together, they have created the wonderful Barn Garden in Hertfordshire.

The Landscape: designing ordered disorder with Marcus Barnett

12:30 pm

Kindly sponsored by Property Vision

Marcus’s initial career included seven years in the British Army followed by a short spell working in Australia. Upon returning to the UK, absorbed by design and a passion for the landscape Marcus enrolled at the Inchbald School of Design graduating with honours. Many more awards have followed and Marcus now runs a Landscape Architect’s practice from its London base working in the UK and overseas.

Fabulous Floristry with Simon Lycett

1:00 pm

Simon J Lycett Ltd enjoys an international reputation for being one of Europe’s finest floral decorating companies. Simon created the wedding decorations for TRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at Windsor Castle, David and Victoria Beckham, Viscount and Viscountess Weymouth, Cheryl Cole and for the wedding reception of HRH Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. Simon and his Team have decorated parties for HM Queen Elizabeth for over 20 years, working throughout some of London’s most exclusive venues, the Royal Palaces and Windsor Castle.

Simon’s has appeared countless times on TV with Mary Berry, on ITVs Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, at numerous RHS Chelsea Flower Shows and has presented the BBC2 documentary ‘The World’ Biggest Flower Market’. Simon is also a frequent guest at the BBC Radio London studio on the Jo Good afternoon show.

Simon spent the early part of 2020 in Los Angeles filming the first series of a floral design competition for HBO Max featuring 10 of America’s budding florists vying to be voted America’s best, with Simon as serving as Host Judge. Simon returned to LA to film the second series during Spring 2021. Simon runs floral Masterclasses and spent time in Philadelphia where he taught at the world-famous Longwood Gardens.

Simon is passionate about British floristry and seasonal flowers and devotes much of his time to raising the profile of British Floristry. Simon has recently published his seventh book.

www.simonlycett.co.uk

Producing Food with Nature with Alexandra Tomlinson

1:30 pm

At a time when we all need the power of healing, what better lens than the food we eat, through which to view our world, and to reconnect to nature. This session will give insights into how we can produce food in a way that restores the health of our ecosystem, our wildlife, our livestock, and ourselves; shining a light on the benefits of working with nature, from small gardens to wide expansive landscapes.

As a qualified veterinarian — specialising in wildlife health, disease, and conservation, and more recently self-educating in regenerative land management — Alex understands how regenerative principles and practices have the potential to enhance our world. Alongside work as a regenerative consultant, Alex is a director of two organisations: sankalpa and WilderCulture. sankalpa supports activities that transform the way people interact with animals, the environment and each other; and WilderCulture promotes ecological restoration and food production from our uplands.

Cool Carbs with Elodie Stanley & Flora’s Kitchen

2:00 pm

Elodie Stanley, nutritionist, researcher and educator, has worked with clients for more than 20 years helping them resolve a wide range of health issues through the understanding and application of nutrition science

Never the same again: navigating our future

3:30 pm

Small question: how do we make life better? At Heckfield Place, a luxury hotel in Hampshire everything starts with the soil. Farmed bio-dynamically, Heckfield centres on local produce, farm to fork, and a reknitting of their Home Farm and the surrounding 438 acres with the hotel. Heckfield will talk about the need for a regenerative drive and within their skincare line, Wildsmith Skin, why the radical botany mixes nature and science. Come with your questions – and be part of the solution.

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