The Talk About Trust Fundraiser - 28th June 2025

Please support The Talk About Trust Charity and its work in providing children and young people with the knowledge, skills and resilience to make safer choices around alcohol, drugs and vaping by attending a wonderful ‘Gardeners' Questions’ style event at The Grange, Beaminster DT8 3SH on the 28th June 2025.

Ticket prices are:

• £55 for the meet the experts morning and two course lunch

• £30 for the meet the experts morning and stalls with refreshments (from 10am to 12:30pm)

• £40 for bubbly reception and delicious 2 course lunch (from 12:30pm to 3:30pm)

Book your tickets!

Tickets via our website: Gardeners Delight

The day will include:

• 10 am – 12.30 quiz the experts, enjoy specialist garden stalls with refreshments

• 12.30 bubbly reception

• 1pm 2 course lunch with guest speaker Maria Boswall, leading landscape architect and horticulturalist, co-founder of the Sustainable Landscape Foundation and author of The Kindest Garden

• Auction of promises

Accommodation available

Luxurious overnight accommodation at The Grange - including swimming pool access - is available by very kind permission of Kate and Geoffrey Guy.

This will be on a first come, first served basis and for a maximum of 2 nights at £150 per room per night. You can find out more via The Grange - Chedington Estate . To book, please email kate@talkabouttrust.org . The proceeds from accommodation are in aid of The Talk About Trust.

David Howard - former Head Gardener at Highgrove and expert in organic gardening

David is a graduate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh and worked at Windsor Castle as a student gardener. For over 10 years he was Head Gardener at Highgrove House, Gloucestershire, for the then Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. He also restored the Victorian walled vegetable gardens at Avebury Manor for BBC TV. He has collected plants in the Himalayas of Northern India and specialises in organic gardening and horticulture.

Nick Williams Ellis – garden designer and winner of a gold at Chelsea and best in show at Hampton Court

Nick Williams-Ellis trained as a landscape architect and worked in Liverpool and Glasgow before later concentrating on garden design. In 2006, at Chelsea Flower Show, he designed a 'Jurassic Garden' that celebrated Dorset's unique coast. Two years later, he won gold and Best in Show awards at both Chelsea and Hampton Court flower shows for his vegetable gardens for schools, which were sponsored by Dorset Cereals. He is now retired and living in the Cotswolds, but retains his passion for gardens and gardening.

Anna May of Dorset Dahlias

Anna May of Dorset Dahlias has been growing dahlias for over 10 years and now grows around 800 a year comprising some 120 varieties. Anna will be happy to talk to you about all aspects of growing dahlias from dividing and propagating, how to care for your dahlias once in bloom both in the garden and in the vase and also how to store them over the winter.

Marian Boswall is a leading landscape architect and horticulturalist, was a lecturer in Historic Garden Conservation at Greenwich University for several years and is a co-founder of the Sustainable Landscape Foundation. Her projects invest in the land for the very long term and wellness is a deeply embedded ethos. Marian works with the way the land can heal and connect us on all levels; in early 2020 she gave a TedX talk on how our gardens can care for us and the earth. Marian writes and lectures on sustainable design and was awarded the Garden Columnist of the Year in 2019. She has also been featured as a Country Life ‘Top 50’ Garden Designer, House & Garden ‘Top 50’ UK Garden Designer and Country and Town House ‘Top 10’ Garden Designer.

Ricky Caddy and Jim Aplin, Head Gardener and assistant Head Gardener Chedington Court

Ricky Caddy joined Scotts Nurseries at the age of 16 where he spent 32 years, gaining a huge knowledge of hardy plants, trees and shrubs. During his years at Scotts, he took part in the RHS shows at Chelsea and Hampton Court, achieving gold and silver awards respectively.

Ricky then became Head Gardener at Chedington Court where he has remained for the last 15 years, transforming the gardens and drawing crowds to the annual Open Gardens. When not hard at work in the gardens, Ricky takes great pleasure in drawing and painting.

Jim Aplin started his first gardening job with Bournemouth Council working on Bournemouth Gardens. The gardens won the RHS Best Town Garden of the Year award. Since then Jim has worked for various gardening specialists improving his plant and tree knowledge and refining his gardening skills. Eden’s Landscaping saw Jim become Senior Supervisor and designing many gardens.

Laura Mason

Laura trained in garden design at Kingston Maurward in 2008 and has since been working on projects throughout the county, specialising in small to medium sized garden designs and border re-plants. Laura enjoys working with clients to create usable spaces which provide structure and interest throughout the year, focussing on ‘right plant right place’ . Once the bones of a garden are in place, she uses perennials to provide successional planting throughout the seasons and to ensure that the garden is a place to enjoy year round.

Book your tickets!

Tickets via our website: Gardeners Delight

For more information or any queries, please contact kate@talkabouttrust.org