Headline Speaker: Ideal Home Show Glasgow 2024
Helping Scottish gardeners choose the right plants for success
I had the privilege of being invited as a headline speaker at the Ideal Home Show Glasgow in 2024, presenting to a packed audience eager to learn about plant selection for Scottish gardens. The talk focused on a challenge every Scottish gardener faces: choosing plants that will genuinely thrive in our unique climate rather than merely survive.
Scotland's gardening conditions are distinctive - mild winters moderated by the Gulf Stream, but persistent rainfall, fierce winds, and dramatic seasonal variation. Many gardeners struggle because they're seduced by plants that look beautiful in southern England or continental Europe but simply aren't suited to our reality. My presentation aimed to change that mindset, showing how understanding our climate opens up exciting possibilities rather than limiting them.
The session covered practical strategies for selecting plants based on hardiness, tolerance to wind and rain, and suitability for Scottish soil conditions. I explored how our climate actually offers advantages - the lack of temperature extremes and consistent moisture suit a remarkable range of plants that wouldn't tolerate drier, hotter regions. From tough coastal natives to exotic specimens that appreciate our mild winters, Scotland's palette is far richer than many gardeners realise.
What made the talk particularly rewarding was the engagement from the audience. The question and answer session ran longer than scheduled, with gardeners asking about everything from dealing with waterlogged clay to creating wildlife-friendly planting in exposed locations. These weren't abstract queries - people wanted specific, actionable advice they could implement in their own gardens. That direct connection with fellow gardeners, sharing knowledge built from years of hands-on experience across Scotland, is what makes events like this so valuable.
The Ideal Home Show platform allowed me to reach hundreds of gardeners in a single session, many of whom approached me afterwards to discuss their own garden challenges. It reinforced something I've always believed: there's genuine hunger for horticultural knowledge rooted in Scottish conditions, delivered by someone who actually gardens here and understands the realities we face.
Being selected as a headline speaker at Scotland's premier home and lifestyle event reflected not just my credentials as a Chartered Horticulturist and Master of Horticulture, but also the growing recognition that ecological, climate-appropriate planting deserves centre stage in how we approach garden design. Scottish gardeners are increasingly interested in working with their environment rather than fighting it - choosing plants that will flourish rather than struggle.
The overwhelmingly positive response to the talk confirmed what I've long suspected: gardeners want expertise that's practical, honest, and specific to where they actually live. Generic advice doesn't cut it when you're dealing with Glasgow's rainfall or Edinburgh's wind. Scottish gardens demand Scottish knowledge.
Tom Angel is a Chartered Horticulturist, Master of Horticulture (RHS), and garden designer specialising in ecologically-focused planting for Scottish conditions.
