This talk and all our lectures are FREE for Friends of the Botanical Gardens to attend. Members of the public are also welcome to join us on payment of £5 at the door on the day. Live talks are held in the Education Centre in the grounds of the Botanical Gardens - easily accessed via the Thompson Road Entrance.

In March 2022 Ben Preston and his partner Laura took on a derelict nursery in North Yorkshire and in this talk Ben will share their journey of building the new nursery from scratch (warts and all), the plants they grow and how they propagate them.

Ben promises an honest and fun talk of the trials and tribulations of setting up a nursery and the adventures along the way…..

Before setting up Cliff Bank Nursery, Ben was Head Gardener at York Gate Garden in Leeds for 5 years, overseeing the new developments of the garden and building a new team and small nursery.

He has a 1st class degree in Horticulture and Plant Science from Nottingham Trent University and has worked in various public and private gardens across the country, notably Goldsborough Hall in North Yorkshire and Audley End in Essex. His passions are People, Plants and Propagation. 

Cliff Bank Nursery website

Cliff Bank Nursery on Instagram

Ben Preston on Instagram