We are thrilled to announce Anne Swithinbank as our new Friday speaker! It seems especially fitting as we celebrate our fifth anniversary, as Anne was the first speaker at our first ever Garden Festival back in 2012.

Anne who is well known to fans of the long-running Radio 4 programme Gardeners’ Question Time, started growing plants at a young age and after leaving school, worked in the nursery for Bexley parks department before moving to RBG Kew to take their 3 year diploma course. She then worked for Epsom and Ewell parks as foreman propagator. From here, she moved to RHS Wisley as glasshouse supervisor and stayed for 5 years before going freelance in 1986. Fixing peoples gardens, speaking, TV work and writing followed.

Anne has been a panellist on Gardeners’ Question Time for 24 years and currently writes for Amateur Gardening, Candis Magazine and Grow Your Own. Her most recent book is The Greenhouse Gardener. She has a two-acre garden in East Devon where clay soil with flints, wind blowing up from the sea, deer, rabbits, squirrels, badgers and a husband with ideas of his own present her with plenty of challenges.

“Our garden is a vibrant place and very much part of the landscape” says Anne. “I tend to view so-called problems as fascinating and enjoy making interesting sideways moves to solve them”.

Join Anne at the festival to talk about favourite flowers of spring, Friday 27th April at midday in the Speakers’ Marquee, followed by the popular Gardeners’ Q & A session at 2pm.

Anne’s talk is free to festival ticket-holders. Buy Friday tickets