Islington in Bloom Talk: Wildlife friendly gardening

Join Christine and Mick Lavelle as they share hints and tips on composting, fertilisers, companion planting, disease resistant cultivars of fruit and vegetables as well as border design for ornamental gardens to encourage natural predators.

Organic gardening is all about carrying out good practice in the garden, it's as simple as that!

Please arrive around 2.45 so we can start on time at 3pm.

Christine Lavelle is a lecturer in horticulture and ecology at Writtle College, Chelmsford, UK, and an external examiner for the School of Horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She trained at the National Trust for Scotland’s Threave School of Practical Gardening and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Christine was assistant Head Gardener at Levens Hall topiary gardens in Kendal and Hardy Ornamentals Team leader at Askham Bryan College in York. Her main areas of work are in organic growing and wildlife gardening.

Together, Christine and her husband Michael Lavelle won the Garden Media Guild Practical Book of the Year Award in 2003 and 2008 for their books Organic Gardening and How to Create a Wildlife Garden (both published by Lorenz Books).

Michael Lavelle is a trained horticulturist and environmentalist with a firm belief that nature provides the best model for any garden. A keen observer of nature since his early childhood in Blackpool on the West coast of Lancashire, UK, he believes that a combining sustainable, natural processes with a commonsense approach to the care of plants, is the fundamental foundation of success in both gardens and the wider landscape. Michael studied horticulture at Askham Bryan College in York and environmental management at Wye College in Kent. He worked as a professional landscaper before starting a career as a horticultural lecturer. Michael has designed and constructed educational exhibits at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, achieving over a dozen medals including prestigious gold medals in 1999, 2003 and 2005. He currently works as a senior lecturer in landscape management at Writtle College in Chelmsford, and writes for several consumer magazines as well as having written or contributed toward numerous books on the subject of gardens, horticultural practices and wild flora. Together, Michael and his wife Christine Lavelle won the Garden Media Guild Practical Book of the Year Award in 2003 and 2008 for their books Organic Gardening and How to Create a Wildlife Garden (both published by Lorenz Books).

These events are kindy sponsered by Active Landscapes, Warwick Landscapes and Marlborough Highways.