NZAGS is delighted to announce that John Anderson, Keeper of the Gardens for the Windsor Estate in England, will be our guest speaker at the November meeting.
Responsible for renowned gardens including Windsor Great Park, The Savill Garden, The Valley Gardens, and Frogmore House, John is visiting Christchurch as a keynote speaker for the NZ Rhododendron Association Festival.
On 5th November 2026, 7.30pm, at the Philatelic Centre, Mandeville Street, he will present "Gardens of the Gulf Stream" an illustrated talk featuring some of the great gardens he has worked in.
Visitors are warmly welcome to attend.
John is the Keeper of the Gardens, Windsor Great Park, England. He is responsible for a number of important Historic Garden Landscapes in Windsor Great Park (Savill, Valley; Frogmore Gardens), several other Royal Gardens (Buckingham Palace, Sandringham & Highgrove).
John is also Lead Team Member in the Landscaping and Renovations of the Treescape within the Great Park; Home Park at Windsor Castle. As well John is working within the wider teams to deliver better understanding of sustainability in horticulture. He has responsibility for ten National Collections (Rhododendron species, Magnolia, Mahonia, Sorbus, Prunus incise, Betula utilis/albosinensis, Stewartia, Enkianthus, hardy ferns and 390 TROBI – Champion Trees. Overall, that is 19 500 Taxa and 32,000 acres of gardens, farmlands and parks.
John is a member of the Royal Horticultural Society –Woody Expert Group, a member of the National Arboreta Advisory Committee (Westonbirt; Bedgbury), Garden Design Review Panellist for the Queen Elizabeth II Garden at The Regent’s Park, London and a Life Member of the IDS.
He is a Trustee of the National Oak Collection Chevithorne- Barton, England, Trustee of TROBI (Tree Register of Britain and Ireland), Trustee of the Royal Windsor Flower Show and President of the Virginia Horticultural Society.
In his spare time he has lectured on a wide range of horticultural subjects: 2023 - China, 2024 - “A Window into a World of Plants” Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy. In 2025: Windsor – A snapshot of the Royal Gardens, National Plant Collections; TROBI Tree Champions.
2025/6: International Dendrology Society - Magnolia’s at Windsor.
2026. Northern Ireland Heritage Garden Trust – Mount Usher’s Robinsonian Wild Garden; Plants; Landscapes of N.E. India.
There have also been workshops, including in 2025: IDS Trees for the Future at Windsor Great Park with Prof Mick Crawley, Imperial College London. John has travelled to see plants in the wild on nearly every continent - China; NE India; Australia; New Zealand; S. Africa; N. America; Chile; and Europe.