John Anderson VMM - Keeper of the Gardens, Windsor Great Park, England

The New Zealand Rhododendron Association is thrilled to bring John Anderson VMM to New Zealand as keynote speaker at the NZRA Rhododendron Festival in Christchurch and Selwyn.

John is Keeper of the Gardens, Windsor Great Park, England and responsible for several important historic and garden landscapes in Windsor Great Park.  The 35-acre Savill Garden, the 250-acre Valley Gardens, the 40-acre Chapel Wood Arboretum and His Majesty’s 35-acre Private Garden at Frogmore.

He is also responsible for 10 National Collections including Rhododendron species and 390 – Champion Trees on the Tree Register of Great Britain and Ireland.

John is a member of many groups and holds various appointments including:

Royal Horticultural Society – Member of the Woody Plant Committee

Trustee of The Tree Register of Great Britain & Ireland (TROBI).

Trustee of the National Oak Collection Chevithorne- Barton, England

Gardens Advisor to the Royal Parks ‘Queen Elizabeth II Garden’

A member of the Arboreta Advisory Committee - The National Arboretum Westonbirt & National Pinetum Bedgebury.

Vice President Royal Windsor Flower Show

He has studied and worked at the National Botanic Gardens – Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland and at the Royal Botanic Gardens – Kew & Wakehurst Place, England

In previous roles he has been:

Head Gardener at Mount Usher Gardens, Wicklow, Ireland.  National Collections of Eucryphia, Eucalyptus & Nothofagus. 

Head Gardener at Inverewe Gardens (National Trust for Scotland), NW Scotland. A 100-acre coastal garden with National Collections of Brachyglottis, Olearia and Rhododendron

Head Gardener at Exbury Gardens, Hampshire, England. 250-acre Rhododendron Garden. National Collections of Nyssa & Oxydendrum.

He has lectured worldwide and has been recognised by the Royal Horticultural Society with numerous awards including the prestigious RHS Veitch Memorial Medal.