A popular garden talks feature resumes early next month, reports Gillian Vine.
Everybody loves a freebie and one that attracts gardeners by the dozen is the HortTalk series at the Dunedin Botanic Garden.
From March to November, HortTalk runs on the first Friday of each month and the aim is to provide a variety of topics presented by those with expertise in a horticulture-related field.
HortTalk has its origins in programmes begun some 30 years ago by the Friends of the Dunedin Botanic Garden.
Since 2004, as part of the formal collaboration between the botanic garden and Otago Polytechnic's School of Horticulture, staff of both organisations have worked to bring together the annual line-up of speakers.
Otago Polytechnic tutor Kim Thomas puts the programme together with Clare Fraser of the botanic garden.
''Sometimes we think we will run out of people [to speak] but we never do as there are so many awesome people out there,'' Ms Thomas said.
The talks ''have a hard core of followers who attend every time but each one attracts people with a special interest in the topic of the day'', she said.
Ms Thomas is justifiably pleased with this year's line-up, which begins on March 7 with Dunedin landscaper Wayne Butson describing how he and his talented team put together the inspirational garden designs that have resulted in his receiving numerous awards, including the prestigious Landscaper of the Year title in 2010.
In April, New Zealand plants come under the spotlight. Geoff Rogers, of the Department of Conservation, explains the driving factors - including tectonic upheavals - that have given us such unique flora.
Upheavals of a different kind are Tracey Frisby's focus. Recognising that renting a property can be a deterrent to spending time or money on a garden, as tenants know they will be leaving it behind, her May 2 talk is entitled ''Transient gardens for uprooted lives''.
She will give tips on how to create beautiful container gardens that can shift when you do.
Is local food a passing fad or a key to a secure future? On June 6, Andy Barratt, of Karitane, describes how people are establishing a ''parallel economy'' to connect growers and consumers of natural food.
Otago Polytechnic has committed itself to an ambitious goal, ensuring every graduate practises sustainability, whatever their field.
Samuel Mann, associate professor in information technology at the polytechnic, is referred to as the go-to person. In his HortTalk on July 4, he explains why.
Bird-watching is Alan Baker's passion and for four years he studied birds in the botanic garden.
On August 1, he will speak about what he learned, especially which berries, flowers and leaves bring avian visitors to the garden.
Peak oil is a well-known term but peak water is less familiar.
Water harvesting is becoming increasingly important worldwide and, on September 5, permaculture consultant Jon Foote describes what it is and the work of the ReScape Resilience Education centre.
Plants can be deeply symbolic, as artists have demonstrated over the centuries.
On October 3, Janice Lord, curator of the Otago Herbarium and a senior lecturer in botany at the University of Otago, presents an ecologist's overview of how - and perhaps why - plants have been used as symbols in art for more than 2000 years.
Wrapping up HortTalk for the year on November 7 will be Alan Matchett, botanic garden team leader (curator).
He will talk about the new nursery and propagation facilities in Lovelock Ave, the ''engine room'' of the garden and a vital facility to ensure it develops in the future and retains its status as a NZ Gardens Trust Garden of International Significance.
HortTalk
HortTalk is held at midday on the first Friday of each month in the Information Centre, Lower Botanic Garden. The venue replaces the Botanic Garden Centre in Lovelock Ave, which has been demolished to make way for the new propagation facility.
