Calendar — Bournemouth In Bloom, Bournemouth Horticultural Society, founded 1884

ZOOM TALKS!

These events are for members only

so JOIN NOW!

Examples of previous speakers are:

Paul Keeley from Winton Primary School told us all about how he instills a love of growing and harvesting so many kinds of plants into his young charges! Inspirational!

Andy Hunt, who manages the gardens at Kingston Lacy gave an insightful talk on the very varied areas of the grounds around Kingston Lacy as well as the history of the Bankes family, the photos were fabulous of course!

Phil Broomfield, Regional Co-ordinator for Dorset NGS and Lead Garden Volunteer at Russell-Cotes Museum spoke about the history of the National Garden Scheme with photos. It was a most enlightening presentation.

Exbury Gardens Head Gardener, Tom Clarke, who presented on ‘The Challenges of Managing a Historic Woodland Garden in our Changing Climate’ was an extremely engaging speaker and the photos were fantastic! Everyone who attended really enjoyed it.

Mary Payne MBE spoke eloquently on Compton Acres - who knew about the challenges of gardening on a sandy soil with so much tree cover! Again, the photos and the information were amazing!

The next Zoom presentation will be

Friday, 12th June 2026

at our new start time of 7pm

Title: A virtual walk around Ventnor Botanic Garden ‍ ‍

Photos and talk will show some of the highlights of the 22 acre frost free garden on the Isle of Wight, known as ‘Britain’s Hottest Garden’

All the plants at Ventnor Botanic Garden have been selected to grow well in the 21st Century. Many are heat and drought tolerant and grow in frost free climates.

Talk given by Wayne Williams, Head Gardener Ventnor Botanic Garden, Isle of Wight

Wayne has been in horticulture for over 30 years, he studied amenity and botanical horticulture for 5 years. He trained as an apprentice for 2 years at Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses, then studied at Pershore College of Horticulture for 2 years gaining a National Certificate and a National Diploma in Amenity Horticulture. He also spent 1 year studying at the RHS Garden, Wisley, Surrey. He has had experience in show gardens at Birmingham NEC, Chelsea Flower Show and Philadelphia Flower Show.

He worked at Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses for 26 years, as a gardener, plant records officer, propagator, senior horticulturalist and Head Gardener. Wayne is currently Head Gardener at Ventnor Botanic Garden, Isle of Wight, where he joined in November 2023.

Photo below is of the Arid Garden within Ventnor Botanic Garden

Members will receive the link by email a few days before

Presenters to come!

11th September, Steve Cox, who will be talking about trees in the urban environment.

Steve has over 35 years experience of dealing with trees, having worked as a forest manager in Africa and the Pacific and then as an arboricultural officer for the Borough of Poole in Dorset, where he was leader of its arboricultural team for five years.

Steve will talk about trees in urban areas and how they improve the environment. Steve will discuss the effects of pollution and climate change, the trees that could be most affected and what the landscape may look like in the future.

Finally, Steve will look at trees that are of special interest in Dorset.

Our Year Book is available and contains all the dates and details for the Shows and Awards Event for 2026. Please join NOW to be on the mailing list to receive a year book and list of benefits including access to the Zoom meetings!

Show dates for 2026

Tuesday 7th April 2026 - Spring Show

Saturday 4th July 2026 - Summer Show

Saturday 12th September 2026 - Autumn Show

St Francis of Assisi Church Hall, 480 Charminster Road, Bournemouth, BH8 9SH

Doors open at midday until 4.30pm. Awards will be presented at 4.00pm

Members are admitted free of charge, non-members £1.

Other important dates this year to which all members are welcome: