Calling all Gardeners! London School of Horticulture Spring Symposium (inc talks, gardening Q&A, seed swap, chat ...)

[Gardening Courses]

🌱 London School of Horticulture Spring Symposium (including seed swap) 🌿🌷

Wednesday 25th March (6-9pm) - Herne Hill Station Hall SE24

All welcome as we bring together anyone interested in horticulture for a lively and interesting evening of speakers and events ... with drinks, snacks, a seed-swap, a Spring Gardening Q&A and lots of opportunities to interact with the speakers and each other.  

SPEAKERS & EVENTS:

Talk: Looking after our War Graves: Gardening Globally in a Changing Climate

Adam Blunt, Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Join Adam on a journey through the cemeteries of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the world’s largest gardening organisation. 

From the deserts of North Africa to the rain-soaked landscapes of Northern Europe, the CWGC cares for the resting places of the fallen across every climate zone. This global responsibility places them at the forefront of climate change challenges, demanding innovation in horticultural design and craft skills. Discover how they honour heritage while pioneering sustainable horticulture, tackling extremes of weather and environmental change head-on.  

Adam's talk will introduce what they do around the world and their heritage landscapes before looking at some current projects and the work the CWGC are doing with Tom Stuart Smith, Andrew Fisher Tomlin, and Joe Perkins to drive sustainability and bring commemoration to a new audiences through planting and landscape design.

Talk: Green Walls & Vertical Greening

Chetan Rama, Senior Project Manager at Biotecture

Join us in welcoming Chetan Rama, Senior Project Manager at Biotecture, the UK’s largest living‑wall company. In this informal session, Chetan will take us behind the scenes of some of his vertical‑greening projects, how they were designed, where they thrive, and why they matter.

He’ll explore the environmental and human benefits of living walls, the engineering that allows plants to flourish 50 metres above the pavement, and the challenges and limitations of building green infrastructure that lasts for decades. Biotecture’s unique approach - growing all plants in their Sussex nursery and installing them as bespoke panels - has resulted in installations that have been thriving for more than twenty years.

Expect plant names, horticultural magic and perhaps even a bee or two enjoying life high above street level.

Showcase: Sourcing Seed Sustainably, Suppliers, DIY and Seed Swap

Liz Myers (with Mima Taylor & Andy Forbes)

Almost all of our seeds in the UK are imported from half way round the world so the few homegrown seed companies that do exist are really exceptional.  Sourcing from them, saving your own seed and using seed swaps should be a top priority for any sustainable gardener.  We'll be showcasing some sustainable UK seed companies and hosting a seed swap (bring some seed!).  We'll also be demonstrating Andy's amazing DIY air seed sorter/cleaner (built from open source plans of the Real Seed Company).

Cost: £20 (£15 conc)

Click here for more info & to book tickets:

🌱London School of Horticulture Spring Symposium 2026 - ticket link🌱

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Gardening Courses
typo!