The Tesselaar Gardening and Plants Expo

9am - 4pm
17th - 18th March 2012

Over 40 nurseries and plant growers
Expert plant talks & demonstrations
Shop for plants of all shapes and sizes

Meet and listen to Jane Edmanson and Stephan Ryan

Talks and Demonstrations Timetable

Free informative and instructional talks run throughout the weekend aimed at both the budding gardener and the expert green thumb. The speaker program offers experience, knowledge and inspiration from specialists in their field.

Garden expert and personality Stephen Ryan is compere throughout the weekend, adding his informative and fun approach.

Guest speaker is the legendary horticulturalist Jane Edmanson. Other inspirational garden speakers include David Glenn and Merryle Johnson.

The following speaker programme is from our 2011 event. We have left it here as a guide to the calibre of the presentations until we finalise the 2012 programme.
The 2012 programme will be updated closer to the event.

Saturday

Main stage:

	Garry Van Ekeren of Bamboo Creations Uses for bamboo in the garden
	Clive Halls of Mt Beenak Orchids: How to grow Orchids in your backyard, some requirements and lots of good ideas.
	Martin Farrugia of Australian Bred Begonias: All about Begonias.
	Merryle Johnson of Country Farm Perennials: Colourful garden ideas to beat the dry!
	Stephen Ryan, host of ABC Gardening Australia and proprietor of Dicksonia Rare Plants: Rare plants, the good the bad and the ugly.
	David Glenn of Lambley Nursery: Dry climate gardening and using bulbs in Dry Climate gardening.
	-- Keynote presentation -- Jane Edmanson, Horticulturalist, presenter on ABC Gardening Australia and Gardening Talk back redio host: From the ground up.
	Clive Larkman of Di's Delightful Plants: Clive cooking with herbs - a delicious show!
	Geoff Chochrane of Blue Lotus Water Garden: Growing Sacred Lotus in Southern Australia.

Sunday

Main stage:

	Annette Kennedy of Bass Valley African Violets: How to grow African Violets.
	Trish Moore of Natural Plantscapes: Drought gardening with native plants. Flowering natives throughout the year.
	Tim Drewitt of Drewitt bulbs: Poultry in the garden and all its benefits
	Stephen Ryan, host of ABC Gardening Australia and proprietor of Dicksonia Rare Plants: Rare plants, the good the bad and the ugly.
	David Glenn of Lambley Nursery: Dry climate gardening and using bulbs in Dry Climate gardening.
	-- Keynote presentation -- Jane Edmanson, Horticulturalist, presenter on ABC Gardening Australia and Gardening Talk back redio host: From the ground up.
	Darrly Hoogeboom of Oz Watergardens Aquatic Plants and Ponds
	Tim Hankinson of Brock Metal Craft Uses of Structures in the garden

Speaker Biography:

Jane Edmanson. An inspirational speaker with an immense amount of horticultural knowledge from having worked in plant nurseries for 20 years. Jane is one of the foremost horticulturalists in Australia. She has been a presenter for the ABC’s Gardening Australia for more than 19 years. Jane presents weekly radio shows advising thousands of gardeners across Victoria on 3AW and Magic 1278. She also writes for magazines and has written 5 books. Jane leads garden tours around the world each year. Jane is a patron Royal Horticulture Society, Sustainable Gardening Australia, Ambassador for Australia Day, Ambassador of Cystic Fibrosis Victoria and Chairperson of Schools' Garden Awards amongst others. She has received an Order of Australia Medal and is a terrific woman to boot! Jane will be speaking on Good Gardening Practices. Her talk will include a range of hints, tips and solutions to everyday gardening problems.

Stephen Ryan, broadcaster, horticulturalist and Proprietor of Dicksonia Rare Plants speaks on growing and maintaining a variety of rare plants. Stephen is a gardening author, radio broadcaster as well as nursery owner. Stephen has a wealth of knowledge in the rare and unusual world of botany. He is a very keen gardener and has a great sense of fun in the garden. Stephen promotes plant diversity and has collected some great tid bits and facts to astound and regale you with over the weekend. Stephen is a broadcaster and has written several books.

Merryle Johnson of Country Farm Perennials speaks on Perennials in Tough Spots. We all have them in the garden, those places where nothing seems to grow, be it the exposed sunny section or the damp shaded bog. Merryle has all the answers and with her good humour and comprehensive botanical knowledge will help you to fill all those tough spots.

Poultry for the Garden Tim Drewitt of Drewitt’s Bulbs speaks on Poultry for the Garden. Poultry or chickens in the garden have a myriad of benefits which can be enjoyed with minimum effort. Make your own compost, collect your own eggs, sell the eggs and more. There are so many benefits to keeping your own poultry and Tim will tell you them all. Tim is speaking Saturday only.

Clive Halls from Mt Beenak Orchids will keep you interested with an interesting presentation on orchid culture with a question and answer session as well as practical demonstrations. Orchids you will find are much easier than you think.

Annette Kennedy from Bass Valley African Violets will be speaking on these floriferous and hardy plants. They specialise in the wick watering system, from which they have enjoyed success beyond all expectations. In their talk they will teach you how to grow and care for these beautiful plants – they are so easy (and rewarding).