Chris Beardshaw of BBC Gardener’s World is undertaking a lecture tour of South Africa to raise funds for local horticultural students.
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BBC Gardener’s World presenter, Chris Beardshaw has announced that he will embark on a lecture tour of South Africa in September to raise educational funds for South African horticultural students.
Fresh from successes at London’s Chelsea Flower Show, New Zealand’s Ellerslie International Flower Show in Christchurch and last year’s prestigious World Garden Competition in Japan, Beardshaw is an internationally acclaimed British landscape architect, lecturer, author and gardening television presenter.
Best known for his work for his work on the BBC’s long running television series ‘Gardeners World’, Beardshaw has an MA in Landscape Architecture and will be launching a book on The Sustainable Garden in Europe this year. A Gold Award winner for his garden ‘ Dig for Victory’ at the Chelsea Flower Show a decade ago, Beardshaw chose not to continue participating as a designer in his own right, but set up a progressive training programme for young designers and now enters Chelsea each year as a mentor to talented young designers.
The Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship entry to the Chelsea Flower Show this year was a biodiversity garden and reflected Beardshaw’s person belief in developing eco-gardens.
“Biodiversity is defined as the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem,” says Beardshaw. “This year’s Bradstone Biodiversity Garden prompts us to think of our green spaces not only as places to relax and enjoy, but also as multi-layered habitats. By combining sustainable practice with planting and features to increase biodiversity, the garden offers a species-rich habitat for a range of at-risk garden insects and mammals,” he said during a press briefing at the Chelsea Flower Show this year.
The Chris Beardshaw lecture tour planned for September will raise funds for the South African Nursery Association (SANA) Bursary Fund which finances horticultural training for talented students at tertiary level.
‘Contemporary Garden Design and Planting for Sustainable Gardening’ will be the title of Beardshaw’s lecture in South Africa. These are the tour dates:
- 14th September: 10h30 Lecture in Cape Town, at Kirstenbosch.
- 15th September: 11h00 Lecture in Durban, at Makaranga Lodge.
- 16th September: 10h30 Lecture in Johannesburg at Buitengeluk, Broadacres/Fourways
For more information, contact Roy Davis, tel: 011 317 0903/4/5. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Web: www.keithkirsten.com
