Ambra Edwards: Plant Hunters
Friday 20 November 2026 – 17.30 for 18.00 on Zoom
We start our winter lecture programme on line with a botanical world tour! Ambra Edwards is a multi-award-winning garden writer, specialising in garden history and with a particular interest in the people who make gardens. Her talk will explore the intriguing origins of some favourite garden plants and is sumptuously illustrated with glorious paintings from the historic archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Richard Gravett – Delos, Sissinghurst Castle
Monday 1 February 2027 – 17.30 for 18.00 on Zoom
The history of Delos, the Greek garden at Sissinghurst in Kent, UK, and its recent renewal are described by Richard Gravett, a senior gardener who is in charge of this gorgeous place where the plants and design are relevant to the Mediterranean.
Peloponnese in spring
Monday 5 April – Tuesday 13 April 2027
This eight-night tour of the botanically and historically rich parts of mainland Greece offers an itinerary which is geographically, botanically and historically exciting. It is led by an experienced guide who knows and loves the area, and speaks the language. The visit begins and ends at Athens airport.
Spring in Andalucia
Monday 19 April – Tuesday 27 April (8 nights)
This tour is mainly botanical and will cover parts of three mountain regions in eastern Andalucia, flying in and out of Malaga. It will be based for four nights in a rural hotel and four nights in Granada and will include a visit to the Alhambra and the Generalife Gardens. The tour will be led by experienced guide Razvan Chisu. The tour can expect a mixture of bulbs, orchids, Mediterranean and alpine plants of the region.
The Mountain Flora of Albania
Thursday May 13 – Saturday May 22 (9 nights)
This botanical Tour will be led by Oron Peri, a highly experienced guide and known to many, who has been several times to the places on our Tour and can take us to very specific places. Because of its unique geography Albania is very rich in species, both Mediterranean and alpine. The Tour covers several areas of the country, still developing after decades of communist rule and delightfully rural. It includes a day in the historic cultural city of Berat.
Summer garden tour: Cumbria and North Lancashire
Sunday 27 June – Thursday 1 July 2027
This three-and-a-half-day tour will visit beautiful gardens in Cumbria and North Lancashire from a four-star hotel close to Kendal. Visits will be led by owners and head gardeners with highlights including a visit to Gresgarth Hall Gardens – the private garden of Arabella Lennox Boyd which is only occasionally open – and a guided visit to one of the best areas of limestone pavement in Britain, with a wealth of unusual plants.