With her fun delivery style and vibrant images, Helen is a popular speaker – in person and online – for garden clubs, horticultural societies, and social groups all around the Greater Toronto Area, including at the Toronto Botanical Garden. She has also Zoomed to appreciative audiences across Canada.
Creating and giving presentations has been a great love in over 20 years as a volunteer th Toronto Master Gardener. Whether at the podium or via media like Zoom or GoogleMeet, she presented at libraries, clubs, organizations, businesses, and on the Master Gardener stage at Canada Blooms.
Explore Helen’s Topics
Choose from garden presentations below, or ask Helen about something new. In fact, some of her most frequently asked-for talks began as posts on TorontoGardens.com. Have a look. She is open to ideas.
Garden Design
Designing with
Edible Plants – A fresh look at a growing trend
Integrate beautiful edibles and edible beauty into your flower beds, vegetable patch, and menu. No matter how big your space, you’ll find delicious ideas!
Ecological Gardening
Gardening for Pollinators – Bees, Butterflies, and Beyond
Surprising pollinators, surprising plants. And surprising ways to make your garden more pollinator friendly, all in a picture-packed presentation.
Garden Tourism
Irish Gardens – Prehistoric, Historic, and Modern
Enjoy an eyeful of ideas with a side order of history in this inspiring armchair garden visit to the glorious Emerald Isle.
Audience Favourite
The Garden of Regrets
Meet the plants you’ll wish you’d never planted. Learn how to avoid them (before you do), to live with them (if, sadly, you have them), or how to love them (if you must).
“Great talk! You are a very engaging speaker and gave us lots to think about.”
Planting Design
Designing with See-Through Plants
Meet new plants, and others that will make you look at old friends in a new way in this presentation filled with inspiring photographs. You’re sure to come away with design ideas to apply.
“Your presentation was just lovely…lots of beautiful plants (with names on screen, a definite bonus!)”
Garden Tourism
Garden Walk Buffalo
See what you’ll miss if you don’t catch North America’s biggest, free garden tour. Let Helen show you the imaginative, flowerful side of our near neighbour and very dedicated garden city.
“It was all I had hoped for. Fun, colourful and a real inspiration.”
Planting Design
Gardening in Shade
Plants and Plans for the Darker Side of Gardening helps you create a high-impact shade garden. Come away with ideas for plants and design approaches that work in shade (and sunny gardens, too!).
“I had many members approach me afterwards telling me how much they enjoyed your presentation.”