Water-efficient Garden Design Conference 2006
Jean Griffin FI Hort
Jean is a horticultural lecturer and journalist, appearing regularly on BBC Southern Counties Radio gardening programmes as well as giving talks to horticultural societies. She has worked all her life in horticulture, in the amenity and production sectors, after training first at Studley College and then at Kew. Jean is involved with the gardening charity Thrive, which facilitates and supports therapeutic and community garden projects, and is a judge for Britain In Bloom and Floral Guernsey.
Helen Bostock, Leigh Hunt and Maya Albert
Helen, Leigh and Maya are Horticultural Advisors for the RHS, based at RHS Garden Wisley.
They answer gardening questions from the public at flower shows across the country, and also from RHS members via correspondence, telephone and e-mail. They contribute regularly to the advisory pages of The Garden magazine and the RHS website, as well as assisting with press enquiries on gardening subjects. While all advisors deal with a wide range of gardening questions on a daily basis, they each have areas of particular interest and expertise.
Helen’s areas of particular interest are wildlife gardening and floriculture.
After training at RHS Garden Wisley, Helen won the NAFAS (National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies) Founders' Prize in 1999, using her financial award to complete a study tour of cut flower growers on the eastern seaboard of the USA. Prior to her training at the RHS, she studied at Askham Bryan College in York for the National Certificate in Horticulture. She is an active member of the Wisley Biodiversity Group, encouraging wildlife awareness at Wisley, and editing the group’s newsletter. She has been a Horticultural Advisor for five years.
Leigh’s areas of particular interest are design, layout and presentation of information; water efficiency in the garden; raising awareness on the increased paving-over of front gardens, which makes flash flooding in urban areas more likely during periods of heavy rainfall.
Leigh trained at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, winning the Prince of Wales Organic Gardening Award from the Worshipful Company of Gardeners. Afterwards, he worked for five years as a technical advisor and writer on BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine. Leigh has been a Horticultural Advisor for two and a half years, also works as a freelance gardening journalist, contributing regularly to Kew and the National Trust Magazine.
Maya’s areas of particular interest are garden design, landscaping, soil science, water efficiency, community & therapeutic gardening.
Maya studied horticulture part-time at Capel Manor College, Enfield, completing various professional certificates in horticulture, garden design, landscaping and production horticulture while working in the industry. First working as a horticultural therapist and project developer, she then had positions as both gardener and supervisor for several maintenance and landscaping firms, eventually becoming Head Gardener for a private estate in London and undertaking private garden design work in her spare time. She has been a Horticultural Advisor for 17 months, and teaches soil science to Wisley trainees on the RHS Advanced Certificate in Horticulture.
Maya organised and planned this conference, so was very pleased to have such a good turnout from local RHS members and residents.