RHS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Press Officer - RHS Shows
Job Titles:
- Press Officer - Gardens and Retail
Clare Booth-Downs helps to curate and care for the collections of dried plant specimens and associated material in the RHS Herbarium. She is a plant collector and digitiser and helps to maintain the herbarium ™s collections ™ management system.
Andrew leads the RHS Plant Health team, consisting of specialist experts in biosecurity, ecology, entomology, nematology, plant pathology and wildlife.
Dr Chloe Sutcliffe ™s research quantifies the positive and negative impacts of gardening on the environment. A key output will be an online tool that gardeners can use to calculate their environmental impacts.
Dr Dawn Edwards specialises in cultivated plant names, applying her expertise as an Editor of RHS Plant Finder and Lead RHS Editor of The Hillier Manual of Trees & Shrubs. She is also Secretary to the RHS Nomenclature and Taxonomy Advisory Group (NATAG).
Job Titles:
- Ecosystem Services Fellow
- Services Fellow
Dr Elisabeth Larsen investigates ecosystem services provided by garden trees and is particularly interested in traits related to flood mitigation, cooling and pollution capture.
Dr Fay Newbery is a Plant Pathologist, focussed on plant disease diagnostics.
Dr Fryni Drizou is a Plant Health Scientist researching and implementing plant health, and pest and disease management strategies across RHS Gardens, Shows and GardenCentres.
Dr Hayley Jones leads our research into slugs and snails (gastropods) in gardens while also working on the agapanthus gall midge, a new pest to science, discovered by the RHS in 2014.
Job Titles:
- Botanical Reviewer
- Editor - in - Chief of RHS Plant Finder
- Reviewer
Dr Janet Cubey is Editor-in-Chief of RHS Plant Finder, overseeing the editing of more than 81,000 plant names and linking authoritative plant nomenclature with nurseries stocking the plants.
Dr Jassy Drakulic is a Plant Pathologist whose research concentrates on honey fungus, developing tests to diagnose the disease and understanding the interactions between different honey fungus species.
Job Titles:
- Head of Horticultural Taxonomy
Dr John David leads the Botany, Herbarium and Registration teams, as well as research projects on cultivated plant diversity, petaloid monocot taxonomy and cultivated plant nomenclature.
Dr Lauriane Chalmin-Pui leads an interdisciplinary research programme on the influence of gardens and gardening on health and wellbeing. She is working in partnership with the University of Sheffield ™s Department of Landscape Architecture.
Dr Liz Beal heads up our research programme into Phytophthora and leads the team answering pathology enquiries received by RHS Gardening Advice.
Dr Magdalena Boshoff specialises in plant nematology and is currently building a nematode reference collection. She is part of the Plant Health/Entomology team.
Job Titles:
- Senior Scientist for Soil and Climate Chang
- Senior Scientist for Soil and Climate Change
Dr Marc Redmile-Gordon leads the research in soil biology and ecosystem nutrient cycling to highlight sustainable ways gardeners can improve their soil and deliver climate mitigations
Job Titles:
- Head of Environmental Horticulture
Dr Mark Gush leads the Environmental Horticulture team conducting scientific research into practical interventions that gardeners can apply to reduce their gardening footprint and improve environmental health and human wellbeing.
Dr Matthew Cromey develops strategies to manage the diseases threatening ornamental and edible crops in UK gardens. He also interprets the results of RHS science research to provide advice for our members and the public.
Nicholas leads research on the application of sustainable water management techniques within domestic and public gardens, and the UK horticultural and landscape industry.
Job Titles:
- Post - Doctoral Fellow
- Post - Doctoral Fellow: Transition to Peat - Free
Raghavendra leads our Transition to Peat-Free project. This interdisciplinary research project investigates sustainable peat alternatives to accelerate the horticultural industry's transition to peat-free growing media
Rebekah works in plant health diagnostics and provides advice to members from descriptions, photos and samples of their unhealthy plants.
Dr Stephanie Bird is investigating control methods for box tree caterpillar and assessing the year-round availability of pollinator-friendly plants. She supports RHS Gardening Advice, replying to members ™ enquiries about garden invertebrates and plant diseases.
Job Titles:
- Principal Horticultural Scientist
Dr Tijana Blanusa leads the Ecosystem Services Research Programme, identifying the structural and functional traits of plants that can be isolated, optimised and employed to benefit the wider environment.
Job Titles:
- PR Manager - Gardens and Retail
We have an ongoing programme of improving our accessibility information across the RHS. If you can ™t find the information you need online regarding a visit to RHS Garden Bridgewater, please contact us on our dedicated email address.
Job Titles:
- Press Officer - Science, Communities and Education
Since the Friends of Harlow Carr was founded, it has aimed to provide a focus of interest for RHS members and volunteers who would like more involvement with the garden.
Please note: Harlow Carr Library will be closed on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 November and re-open at 11am on Wednesday 29 November.
Harlow Carr is part of the Yorkshire countryside and has been welcoming visitors since 1950. Set in a valley, with a variety of growing landscapes, from running and still water, to woodland and wildflower meadows, it ™s home to a range of gardens, as well as a dedicated Alpine House and the Bramall Learning Centre and Library. Highlights include the lavish Main Borders, bursting with prairie-style planting, and the moisture-loving plants around Streamside.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
Job Titles:
- Senior Wildlife Specialist
Helen is the Senior Wildlife Specialist, working with the Plant Health team to provide wildlife gardening expertise and lead on developing and delivering biodiversity targets for the RHS Science and Sustainability strategies.
Our Hyde Hall Garden Centre is filled with top-quality plants, gifts and homeware, plus great ideas for the home and garden.
Learn more about venue hire at Hyde Hall " whether you're looking to host a large professional gathering or a more intimate personal event, our team can help you to plan the perfect day. Hyde Hall Venue Hire Telephone: 01245 402114 Email: hydehallevents@rhs.org.uk If you are interested in catering as part of your event, let our award-winning catering team plan the perfect menu for your event. Please get in touch with our events team using the contact details above.
We have an ongoing programme of improving our accessibility information across the RHS. If you can ™t find the information you need online regarding an RHS Flower Show (Malvern Spring, Chelsea, Hampton, Tatton, Urban), please contact us on our dedicated email address.
Just 30 minutes from North London, set in the rolling hills of Essex, Hyde Hall is an oasis of peace and tranquillity. Offering beautiful panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, it features an iconic Dry Garden with a fantastic range of drought-resistant plants. You ™ll also find a Hilltop Garden, Sky Meadow and the stunning Wildwood, as well as the Clore Learning Centre, designed to inspire new generations of gardeners of all ages.
Ian Waghorn supports the research scientists in the RHS Plant Health team, providing technical and administrative support. He helps maintain the research facilities.
Job Titles:
- Research Assistant
- Research Assistant ( Entomology )
Imogen Cavadino is a Research Assistant and PhD student who is currently studying slugs and snails in UK gardens using a ˜citizen science ™ approach.
Job Titles:
- Press Office Assistant - Shows
Job Titles:
- Principal Horticultural Advisor
James Lawrence manages a team of horticultural advisors who provide advice to members on a range of horticultural issues online, by phone, by post and in person at RHS Garden Centres and RHS Shows.
Job Titles:
- Diagnostic Plant Pathologist
John Scrace diagnoses the causes of member ™s plant problems from their plant samples and online enquiries.
Josie Stuart is the biosecurity lead for all RHS Garden Centres. She provides training and advice to retail teams on potential risks associated with incoming plant material and how to maintain healthy plants.
Katy provides technical support to the Plant Health team, and allocates space and equipment for projects and experiments.
Job Titles:
- Plant Reception Coordinator
Kirsty Wright is developing Plant Reception capability across all RHS Gardens to help prevent pests and diseases from entering on incoming plant material. She advises curatorial teams about the risks associated with different plants and promotes best practice in RHS procurement and handling of new plants.
Job Titles:
- Principal Horticultural Advisor
Leigh Hunt works with RHS scientists to help deliver the RHS Gardening Advice service. Personalised advice is a benefit of RHS membership, and he also helps to make the information available to all on the RHS website.
Job Titles:
- Herbarium Curator and Floral Judging Co - Ordinator
Louise Gunner cares for the dried and pressed plant specimens in our herbarium, cataloguing and preserving them to ensure it ™s safeguarded for the future. During the show season, Louise works as Floral Judging Co-ordinator for RHS Flower Shows.
Job Titles:
- Herbarium Curator ( Digitiser )
Lydia Walles works within the digitisation team to ensure the RHS Herbarium specimens are photographed beautifully and have accurate information associated with them so they can be made available online to an international audience.
Job Titles:
- Herbarium Curator ( Digitiser )
Mandeep Matharu is responsible for creating digital versions of the dried and pressed specimens that make up the cultivated plant collection. An image of each record is captured before being labelled on the central database so it can be accessed, managed and updated.
Neil Lancaster is a senior botanist working on plant identification, classification and nomenclature.
Rupert Wilson Rupert leads the RHS Horticultural Database team, which maintains plant records at Wisley, compiles the RHS Plant Finder, provides training and support for users of the RHS Horticultural Database, and ensures consistency in the data across Science.
Sam is a PhD student studying and quantifying resistance to honey fungus in a variety of horticulturally important plants, using both practical techniques and new molecular techniques.
Job Titles:
- Press Office Administration Assistant
Job Titles:
- Principal Scientist ( Biosecurity )
Sara is responsible for biosecurity across RHS Gardens, Reception, Retail, Shows and other activities, and leads a team of 6 plant health specialists.
Job Titles:
- Cultivated Plant Registrar
Sarah Holme collates and records information about new, existing and historical cultivars of Clematis and Lilium.
Saskia replies to enquiries sent by members and colleagues to the Horticultural Taxonomy team to identity cultivated plants. The identifications support the work of other teams such as Pathology, Entomology, Horticultural Information and Environmental Horticulture within RHS Science.
Job Titles:
- Cultivated Plant Registrar
Sharon McDonald is responsible for the registration of new conifer, Dahlia, Dianthus and Rhododendron cultivars " ensuring uniformity, accuracy and stability in the naming of cultivated plants.
We have an ongoing programme of improving our accessibility information across the RHS. If you can ™t find the information you need online regarding a visit to RHS Garden Wisley, please contact us on our dedicated email address.
Yvette Harvey is responsible for the Society ™s collection of over 90,000 dried, cultivated plant specimens, as well as 3,500 paintings, 35,000 photographs and collectors ™ notes, and a devoted team of curators, digitisers and volunteers.