Talks and Illustrated Lectures by Hester Forde:

I have gardened in Glounthaune on the east of Cork harbour for the past 18 years. The garden grows a vast range of trees, shrubs and perennials and many alpines and tender plants.

The talks which I offer are listed below with brief summaries. All talks last one to one and a half hours depending on groups’ requests and can be delivered via slide projector or computer multimedia presentation. At each lecture the audience are supplied with a list of the plants which are featured and numerous cultivation tips are given.

“Spring Awakens”
This talk aims to show how you can have colour, scent, foliage, tracery and bark from mid Winter into late Spring. Topics covered include snowdrops, hellebores, narcissus, pulmonarias, pulsatillas, irises, paeonias, erythroniums and many more Spring beauties. Shrubs such as daphnes, rhodos, hamamelis, etc.

“Bulbs can make a Difference”
In the small garden, by underplanting with bulbs, one can achieve layers of colour for Spring, Summer and Autumn. This talk looks at snowdrops, cyclamen, fritillarias, tulips, erythroniums, iris, corydalis, narcissus, and crocus for Spring. For Summer into Autumn we look at agapanthus, tulbaghia, dahlias, crocosmia, nerines, colchicums, gladioli and many more.

“Autumn Glory”
This talk aims to show that you can have colour in your garden right through the Autumn until the first frosts. It takes a look at dahlias, nerines, colchicums and in particular grasses that give great colour and movement into late Autumn. Asters, cannas and the fiery shades of acers add fantastic colour to the Autumn garden. Late flowering salvias, hedychiums and nerines also add to the colour.

“Enchanting Plants”
On request from many visitors to the garden I have put together my all time favourites from the garden and also plants that I have seen in other gardens. This talk aims to show the diversity of hardy plants you can grow from late Winter to late Autumn.

“The Lazy Hazy Days of Summer”
This talk takes a look at the summer borders. It looks at plants which are the backbone of summer borders and gardens such as phlox, delphiniums, roses, cannas, alstromerias, eryngiums, hardy geraniums, verbascums, veronicastrums, etc. It also looks at how best to combine these plants to give an appealing overall view.

“The Beauty of Bulbs”
There are bulbs suitable for every month of the year to add colour to the garden. This lecture takes a detailed look at different genera for the different seasons, from snowdrops, narcissi, cyclamen to nerines, gladioli, etc.

“Creative Gardening with Containers”
The principles behind planting up containers to give a pleasing effect. The use of more unusual plants to give a bold effect such as cannas, grasses, annuals, etc. This lecture could also involve a practical demonstration along with slides.

“Small is Beautiful”
An in depth look at smaller perennials and alpines suitable for a scree area or troughs. This lecture can also include the practicalities of planting a trough, soil mixture, siting troughs, plants, etc.

“Pushing the Boundaries”
With warmer winters and less frost we are able to experiment with more tender plants and exotics. This lecture takes an in depth look at cannas, hedychiums, agapanthus, nerines, gladioli, salvias, fuchsias, dahlias and many more which now thrive in our gardens. Hardy exotics like tetrapanax and schefflera are a must to add to the tropical look.

On request I can also talk on colour for the small garden, the making of a garden, screes, troughs and raised beds.I can also bring plants to sell propagated from my own garden in Glounthaune. A plant list is available on request.


Coosheen | 15 Johnstown Park, Glounthaune, Cork, Ireland | Tel: +353 21 4353855| hesterforde@gmail.com