Alan Sargent to deliver James Bruce Memorial Lecture.

Distinguished horticultural author, columnist, and expert witness Alan Sargent FCIHort will deliver The Chartered Institute of Horticulture’s James Bruce Memorial Lecture. Alan’s lecture, entitled “The Changing Face of Professional Landscaping – Fifty Years of Reflections” will draw upon the changes he has witnessed over the past half century, including working methods, tools and equipment, regulations and consumer tastes that affect every part of the horticultural world. Alan began his career in 1968, learning his trade from gardeners with a lifetime of experience. He has gone on to design and build over sixty show gardens before becoming an RHS Show Gardens Judge and Assessor, sitting on the Chelsea Show Gardens Panel for more than a decade. In 1995 he founded The Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) which has grown to become the largest association of domestic landscapers in the UK. Since 2012 he has published books on management issues for Head Gardeners, Garden Designers, Professional Gardeners, Landscapers and Garden Consultants, as well as producing a long running column for Horticulture Week. The lecture will take place at 7pm on Wednesday 1st May, online via Zoom, following the Institute’s Annual General Meeting. Registration is free and open to all via the CIH website. “It’s a great honour to have Alan deliver the lecture, particularly as we enter our 40th Anniversary year. Our mission remains to promote the profession of horticulture and the professionalism of those working in the industry. Over his career Alan has done so much to galvanise professionalism in the industry and I look forward to hearing him share his experience.” CIH President David Richardson CHort FCIHort James Bruce MBE (1908-1992) was a Fellow of the then Institute of Horticulture, having previously been a member of the Horticultural Education Association since 1934, the forerunner of the IoH. Bruce had a distinguished career as a horticultural adviser, advising country estates and prisoner of war camps on vegetable production through the Second World War. Bruce later became the Head of the Department of Horticulture at East of Scotland College, where he was responsible for greatly improving the teaching estate and resources. This lecture recognises the enduring influence of James Bruce on the sharing of horticultural knowledge. In recent years the lecture has been delivered by: David Gwyther CBE, CEO Horticultural Trades Association; Dr Simon Thornton-Wood, Director of Science & Learning, RHS; Roy Lancaster OBE, VMH, FCI Hort, FLS: Lord Taylor of Holbeach CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary, Defra; the RHS Director of Horticulture and Head of Science, Linda Lennon CBE; Richard Barley CHort MCIHort Head of Horticulture, Kew Gardens; John Adlam CHort FCIHort, Dove Associates; Hayley Campbell-Gibbons, AHDB Horticulture Board Chair; Prof. Dave Goulson, University of Sussex and Matthew Appleby, Editor Horticulture Week.