Gardening and Rare Plants Expo

10.30am

Clive Halls of Mt Beenak Orchids:
How to grow Orchids in your backyard, some requirements and lots of good ideas.

11.00am

Merryle Johnson of Country Farm Perennials:
Colourful garden ideas to beat the dry!

11.30am

Stephen Ryan, host of ABC Gardening Australia and proprietor of Dicksonia Rare Plants:
Rare plants, the good the bad and the ugly.

12.00pm

Martin Farrugia of Australian Bred Begonias:
All about Begonias.

12.30pm

David Glenn of Lambley Nursery:
Dry climate gardening and using bulbs in Dry Climate gardening.

1.00pm

-- Keynote presentation --

Jane Edmanson, Horticulturalist, presenter on ABC Gardening Australia and Gardening Talk back redio host:
From the ground up.

2.00pm

Clive Larkman of Di's Delightful Plants:
Clive cooking with herbs - a delicious show!

2.30pm

Geoff Chochrane of Blue Lotus Water Garden:
Growing Sacred Lotus in Southern Australia.

10.30am

Anne Marie Manders of Warratina Lavender Farm:
Qualities and uses of Lavender.

11.00am

Peter Leigh of Post Office Farm Nursery:
All about Hardy Hellebores.

11.30am

Stephen Ryan, host of ABC Gardening Australia and proprietor of Dicksonia Rare Plants:
Rare plants, the good the bad and the ugly.

12.00pm

John Daly of JD Flora:
Carnations and Lisianthus.

12.30pm

Tim Drewitt of Drewitt bulbs:
Poultry in the garden and all its benefits

1.00pm

-- Keynote presentation --

Jane Edmanson, Horticulturalist, presenter on ABC Gardening Australia and Gardening Talk back redio host:
From the ground up.

2.00pm

Trish Moore of Natural Plantscapes:
Drought gardening with native plants. Flowering natives throughout the year.

2.30pm

Annette Kennedy of Bass Valley African Violets:
How to grow African Violets.

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.

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.

Peter Leigh of Post Office Farm in the Macedon Ranges specialises in the Helleborus genus or Winter Rose. For more than 10 years Peter has collected, propagated and hybridised some wonderful varieties of these shade tolerant plants. These drought tolerant, lush plants can be used in all sorts of ways in your garden. Peter will show you how.

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).