Inaugural Heads of Gardens Meeting, Scotland
Thursday 24 September 2026
This is a new, not-for-profit, partnership event for Scotland, for the benefit for those involved in plants and gardens in Scotland.
Following on from the very successful Head Gardeners Conference at the Newt, Somerset in autumn 2025 it was suggested that a meeting should be held along similar lines in Scotland. This would enable participants to benefit from the exchange of ideas in the running of gardens and plant collections.
It will be held initially in Edinburgh in September 2026 and subsequently it is proposed to move it round Scotland for maximum benefit in accessing an event that would otherwise be inaccessible to many people.
The event is open to all those involved in plants and gardens on a first come, first served basis with confirmation of a place on the purchase of a ticket. It will be aimed to benefit head gardeners and garden owners but also landscape architects, botanists and environmentalists. The speakers are all confirmed and there will be a question and answers session during the day.
A limited number of attendance bursaries are available on a first come, first-served basis Information and link to apply here
The event is a independent, partnership initiative supported by the following organisations:
Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society - The Caley
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Scotland’s Gardens Scheme
Event Details
Date: Thursday 24 September 2026
Time: 10am for 10.30 start, ending at 3.15pm
Venue: McHattie Room, Saughton Park, Edinburgh. EH12 5TF
Speakers
John Grimshaw (Trees and Shrubs On-Line, gardener, botanist, author)
Harry Watkins (Director St Andrews Botanic Garden)
Georgie Single (Air-Pots)
Tom Christian (Dendrologist, botanic horticulturalist)
David Knott (Curator living Collection RBGE)
Costs
Ticket cost £49.00 to be paid for in advance. (Please note, fees will be applied at checkout - total including fees is £51.60)
A small number of bursaries are available to support attendance, if you would find it difficult to attend otherwise - apply here
Coffee, tea and biscuits will be available on arrival and before departure. Lunch must be organised and paid for separately. Information on this will be provided at a later date.
Our Speakers
John Grimshaw
John will speak about the International Dendrology Society's Trees and Shrubs Online website, the free-to-access digital encyclopaedia of cultivated temperate woody plants. Now an essential resource for all gardeners and 'tree people', it aims to provides reliable information for the 21st century. John, who is Editor-in-Chief, will outline the project's development and explain how to use the site for maximum benefit
Dr Harry Watkins
Dr Harry Watkins is Executive Director of St Andrews Botanic Garden and Senior Lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture, where he researches how humans are affecting the ecology and evolution of plants in a changing climate
Georgie Single
Georgie Single is next generation of the family who set up and run Air -Pots and has worked in the business since 2021. The Caledonian Tree Company, based in Scotland develops and manufactures the original patented Air-Pot. Founded in 1990 by Jamie and Suzie Single, the company specialises in sustainable, recycled plastic containers that prevent root-spiralling and improve plant health. They recently won the 2026 King’s Award for Enterprise.
Tom Christian
Tom Christian is Deputy Editor of the website IDS Trees and Shrubs Online and a consulting dendrologist and plantsman with a very wide experience of collections and gardens throughout the UK, Ireland, and beyond. Tom studied Horticulture with Plantsmanship at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, graduating in 2008, and continued to be based there until 2017, working closely with the International Conifer Conservation Programme on collaborative projects throughout the UK and participating in expeditions to study and collect plants in the wild throughout the world. Tom remains a Research Associate of the RBGE; he is also a member of the IUCN conifer specialist group, the International Dendrology Society's science and education committee, and the Royal Horticultural Society’s Woody Plant Expert Group. In 2022 Tom was the recipient of the RHS Roy Lancaster Award, awarded to individuals aged 35 or under who have made ‘an exceptional contribution to the practice, science or promotion of horticulture’. He lives in Perthshire
David Knott
Director of Horticulture, previously Curator of Dawyck Botanic and Supervisor at Logan Botanic Garden before returning to Edinburgh in 2008 as Curator of Outdoor Living Collection and in 2010 as Curator Living Collection.
Started his horticultural career at Branklyn Garden, Perth and then attended the National Trust for Scotland’s Threave School of Practical Gardening. Spent a year working in the USA at Longwood Gardens before returning to study at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Then became Assistant Head Gardener at Brodick Castle Gardens, then Head Gardener Castle Kennedy Gardens.
Passionate about plants, undertaking fieldwork in Scotland, China, Nepal, Japan and Korea and horticulture training and was until recently Chair of the Scottish Horticultural Skills Group
Currently Honorary President of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, Trustee of 3 UK gardens and 2 grant awarding horticultural charitable trusts, Fellow and Chair of the Scottish Branch of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture which organises the annual Scottish Grow Careers day.
The event is a independent, partnership initiative supported by the following organisations:
Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society - The Caley
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Scotland’s Gardens Scheme
