Lecture Fees 

                                                                                          Groups of up to 40 - £80

                                                                                          Groups of 41 – 60 - £90

                                                                                          Groups of 61 and above - £100

                                                                                          Study Days £150

                                                                                          All currently plus travel expenses of 45p/mile

 

 GROUPS CAN BOOK VIRTUAL ‘ZOOM’ PRESENTATIONS FOR AN ALL IN FEE OF £90.

 

All talks are illustrated PowerPoint presentations and contain amusing anecdotes and stories. They are delivered in an entertaining and enthusiastic manner and audiences will be supplied with a slide list as part of the service. Plants are usually brought for sale – many of which will have been featured in the talk.

TALKS

NATIONAL COLLECTION TALKS

1 Euphorbias All you need to know about this very popular genus delivered in a highly amusing and informative way. Great slides show the wonderful variety of plants throughout the year. MY TOP TALK.

2 The National Plant Collections of Great Britain What is a National Collection? We take a 3000 mile journey across the UK visiting around 40 different and diverse National Collections. There is a conservation theme to the talk which concludes with an exhilarating climax.

3 Living with a National Plant Collection Written for the successful HPS Autumn Weekend. Hilarious anecdotes and experiences amassed from owning a very trendy and active National Collection. Oh, and some good slides as well.

SEASONAL TALKS

4 Euphorbias and Other Spring Flowering Perennials All the Euphorbia jokes and an excellent selection of other seasonal flowering perennials which pay homage to Euphorbias during the spring! MY MOST POPULAR TALK IN SPRING.

5 Euphorbias and Other Vibrant Perennials  Similar to above but with a wider selection of Euphorbias and perennials covering summer and autumn as well as spring. This talk can be delivered at any time of year.

6 Vibrant Summer Perennials No whites or pastel colours in this talk. Just spectacular rich and vibrant floral colours which are around during the peak summer months. 

7 Late Herbaceous Perennials A sumptuous array of perennials which give of their best from September onwards, including numerous examples of the more colourful and fashionable genera. MY MOST POPULAR TALK IN AUTUMN.

8 Hardy Planter’s Winter Survival Kit Plants, projects, activities and strategies to help you get through the dark nights and cold days between October and the end of March. This is an amusing talk which contains some wonderful slides of winter plants and gardens. MY MOST REQUESTED TALK.

YEAR ROUND TALKS

9 Perennials Throughout the Year A comprehensive look at herbaceous perennials with colourful slides from January-December and peaking in the months of June and July.

10 A Calendar of Colour -  Whether it’s shrubs, bulbs, gardens, Euphorbias or plenty of herbaceous perennials, this talk has a wide array of plants covering every colour in the rainbow and more. This wonderfully colourful talk is a great antidote in the drab months of winter but is relevant in any month of the year.       

11 An A-Z of Garden Perennials Do you know any perennials which begin with Q, X or J? We see some surprising inclusions, as well as plenty of our favourites. Many of the slides in this talk are in close up detail.

12 Flower Power Plus Plus Plus! As the title suggests, this talk is stuffed with flowers in every shade, shape and colour. Thousands of flowers will be seen in this talk. Whether it's masses of tiny flowers, giant colourful blooms, long long flowering periods, stunning wildflower scenes, there are images from every season which will leave you amazed and uplifted with the power of flowers. MY NEWEST TALK.

EDUCATIONAL TALKS

13 Herbaceous Borders and Perennials A short evolution of the English herbaceous border since Victorian times. We visit many of England’s most famous and spectacular herbaceous borders and gardens. The second half of the talk focuses on plants which are grown in these borders.

14 AGM’s - A Glorious Medley of Plants A plethora of highly garden worthy plants that have received the coveted R.H.S. Award of Garden Merit. A little more entertaining and colourful than the other AGM evenings that we attend!!! A POPULAR TALK TO FOLLOW A GROUP'S ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.

15 Is Big Ever Beautiful?  Great things don’t always come in small packages. Whether it’s giant blooms, large plants or enormous gardens there’s something to be admired and enjoyed about being oversize.

ENTERTAINING TALKS

16 People, Plants, Pleasure and Passion Written for a HPS 50^th birthday lecture day, this talk contains funny people stories and fabulous plant images classified into interesting themes. Pleasure and passion, being abstract nouns cannot be illustrated but permeate the whole talk. A FUNNY AND UPLIFTING TALK.

17 Once Seen Never Forgotten Whether it is unforgettable garden scenes, beautiful flower blooms, bizarre plant names or hilarious horticultural encounters, this talk has an eclectic mix of images caught on camera during my garden and wildflower travels around this country and further afield. A colourful and entertaining talk that will last long in your memory. ‘HILARIOUS ENTERTAINMENT’ – A VERY POPULAR TALK.

GARDEN VISITING TALKS

18 Ten Top Gardens No historic parks or landscaped gardens in this talk, just fabulous gardens where herbaceous plants and planting take pride of place. New ideas for gardens to visit, or just reminisce if you have been.

19 Great Yorkshire Gardens The largest county in England has a wonderfully diverse range of gardens. Whether it's landscape parks, historic gardens, herbaceous borders or contempory plots, there is something in this talk for everyone; but pride of place is reserved for gardens with colourful herbaceous planting.

20 Flower Gardens of the National Trust The National Trust care for hundreds of gardens, both historic and modern contemporary ones. This talk visits over 40 different and diverse gardens across the length and breadth of England and Wales covering all seasons where colourful flowers are centre stage. Some new ideas for garden visiting days out for free! (If you are a NT member). NEW TALK.

TRAVEL TALKS

21 Walking With Wildflowers Combining my two passions of walking and wildflowers, these are holiday snaps with a difference! Whether it’s coastal, countryside or mountain walking we see beautiful pictures of many of our garden plants in stunning scenery, where they choose to grow naturally.

 

22 STUDY DAYS All you ever wanted to know about Euphorbias. One practical session and one slide presentation will cover the unique floral structure and seed production, cultivation, propagation, and discover the great diversity in the genus and the large range of varieties for garden use. Max group size 30. See web site for more details and reviews.

 

Below are some images used in my talks.

                     Euphorbia characias John Tomlinson                                                         Euphorbia griffithii Fireglow

                                      Euphorbia Jessie                                                                                Euphorbia myrsinites       

                 Euphorbia epithymoides (syn. polychroma)                                                         Euphorbia rigida

                                      Euphorbia Redwing                                                                            Euphorbia Excalibur

REVIEWS

‘… those of us who were there enjoyed a wonderful talk by Don Witton about his collection of Euphorbias and he certainly had us rolling in the aisles at times! Don is full of infectious enthusiasm and his talk was based on his wide knowledge of the subject and hands-on experience in growing Euphorbias. If Don makes his lessons at school half as enjoyable as his talk, he must surely be the most popular teacher in school!’

 

'I knew you were good but I'd forgotten how good you are. Could I book you again for next year.'

 

'Just to say thank you for an excellent talk on Saturday. We all really enjoyed the talk, full of beautiful pictures and very entertaining as are all your talks. Your photographs certainly lifted the spirits in lockdown.'

 

‘… your slides of Autumn colour were quite breathtaking. Your energy and enthusiasm greatly impressed our members. Two comments - "I could have listened to him all evening" and "I was inspired" - sum up very neatly the reaction to your talk.’

 

‘Thank you so much for coming 'up north' on Wednesday to speak to our gardening club. It was an excellent presentation and enjoyed by everyone I spoke to afterwards.’

 

‘Don then filled the rest of the evening with good slides, the talk was informative and entertaining, what more could we ask of a speaker?’

   

‘That was a very entertaining talk......you have such enthusiasm. Every slide looked like a Christmas card. Even the non gardeners in the group enjoyed it.’

 

‘Your talk was very lively and interesting, prompting several comments on "could you come again sometime." I'll be contacting you for a return visit at some future date.’

 

‘Just writing to offer our sincere thanks to you for visiting us last Tuesday evening and for a very entertaining evening. Many of our members have made a point of telling me how much they enjoyed the lecture and slide show.’

 

‘Thank you for coming to visit us last week. We all enjoyed your presentation enormously. Not only was it informative and thought provoking, but amusing and entertaining too. At our committee meeting after your visit we decided we would like you to visit us again.’

 

‘I thought I must just drop you a line to say how we appreciated you and your wife braving the elements last night to come so far to talk to the Club.  I hope you had a trouble-free journey home.   Members were coming up to me and saying how much they enjoyed your talk and I will certainly be contacting you again to book you.’