ASK IT SOLVE IT STAGE PRESENTERS

Brought to you by:

Click here to view the timetable

	Leanne Moore Leanne Moore is editor of Your Home & Garden, a magazine that gives readers the confidence they need to transform their homes indoors and out. Tips, expert advice and step-by-step projects ensure readers have all they need to know at their fingertips before they start work on a project. Every issue includes a close-up insight into gorgeous Kiwi family homes, easy-to-use info on aspects of decorating, renovating and building, as well as a 20-page outdoors section with loads of tips from gardens editor Carol Bucknell. There is no other magazine in the local market offering this mix of aspiration and down-to-earth advice, presented in a glossy high-quality magazine that is family-friendly, fun and easy.
	Carol Bucknell Carol Bucknell is gardens editor of Your Home & Garden magazine, where she showcases beautiful gardens from around the country as well as profiling interesting gardeners such as artists, actors, cooks and designers. Carol also uses her landscape design skills to create garden makeovers for readers and writes kitchen garden tips and information for edible gardeners. A garden writer for over fifteen years Carol also writes about gardens for Next and Home NZ magazines.
	Fionna Hill Fionna Hill is a floral designer, writer and keen edible gardener, particularly of microgreens. Her passion for these nutritious plants led her to write the book How to Grow Microgreens which is currently selling in eight countries. Fionna also grows organic vegetables in a Grey Lynn community garden and she describes her experiences in the delightful book, A Green Granny’s Garden, a year of the good life in Grey Lynn. Her previous books include ‘Country Style Flowers, Celebrations and contributions to The Christmas Book.
	Fiona Small There is a refreshing understated elegance in Fiona’s work, which has created a great demand for her services, on both residential and commercial projects. Being both an Interior Designer and a Landscape Designer, Fiona has the unique ability to create a complete design from paint to plants, integrating the interior with the exterior. Using both colour and texture Fiona’s designs have a timeless appeal. Fiona has a company called Sienna Design, based in Auckland. Fiona’s work has been represented in both the Master Builders House of the Year and Master Painter of the Year. Her work can be seen on houses, cafes, schools and hotels predominantly around Auckland.
	Philip Smith Philip is a landscape designer, who runs O2 Landscapes Ltd., an Auckland design/installation firm. In his work, Philip places heavy emphasis on planting design, with special interest in widening the range of native plants used within landscape work (particularly threatened species), and on the sensitive integration of native and suitable exotic species within gardens. Following graduation from Massey University in 1998, Philip worked in garden installation/maintenance, moving on to work in one of Europe’s largest nurseries (Bruns, Germany) during 2001. In this period, Philip familiarised himself further with the work of the Northern European naturalistic plantspeople/designers Karl Foerster, Mien Ruys and Piet Oudolf (all of whom are influences in his work). In 2006, Philip travelled to England, as plantsman for the second 100% Pure Tourism NZ garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. In addition to the design and installation of gardens, Philip regularly writes on the topics of landscape design and plants, including contributing the planting guide to Landscape Architecture NZ magazine.
	Nicole Curin-Birch A former fashion and beauty editor of the Dominion Post in Wellington, Nicole now divides her time writing for lifestyle magazines, raising her three children and working as a project officer for the Garden to Table Trust, a not for profit organisation that facilitates the teaching of gardening and cooking at primary schools in New Zealand. Her work with the trust involves liaising with schools, sponsors, volunteers and other stake holders to ensure the programme is integrated into the curriculum smoothly and that children can get their gardens up and growing fast so they can enjoy cooking and eating the wonderful, fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables they have grown from seed themselves.
	Andrew Steens Andrew Steens is a plant fanatic; a professional horticulturist with a degree in horticulture and extensive experience across the landscaping, fruit, vegetable and flower industries in management, production, education, consultancy and marketing - as well as being a keen gardener with a half-acre property north of Auckland. He is passionate about plants and devotes nearly every waking moment to growing or thinking about plants - its not just his hobby, it is his life! He has received the Sir Victor Davies Award for outstanding plant knowledge, has won several flower show medals and has published two books on bromeliads, one on home vegetable growing and another is due out this year on home fruit growing. He has had many articles published in magazines and newspapers around the world and is also a regular writer for The Weekend Gardener. Andrew is currently managing director of CropLink Consulting Ltd, which provides consulting services for numerous horticultural crops, and he is often called on as an expert witness for crop damage claims.
	Heather Tait Heather is passionate about compost and the process of making it. She runs the Sales & Marketing Division of Living Earth, NZ’s largest recycler of organic waste matter to compost. An accomplished gardener, she presents TVNZ Good Morning’s Gardening segments and, because she likes shopping when she’s not gardening – she also presents Shopping on TV1’s Breakfast. She is a former (12 years) garden centre owner and now she frequently contributes to gardening columns and newsletters of Living Earth clients. Heather will be at the Expo on the Living Earth & Central Landscape Supplies stand.
	Bruce Belton When it comes to gardening, Bruce says he is an absolute amateur. A life of contracting has given way to a life of respect for the environment. A bush block by the sea and an organic nursery now occupy most of Bruce’s time and he is learning stuff as a 50 year old that he sincerely hopes every 5 year old is learning. Bruce’s interest in organic horticulture began by attending a Level 3 Certificate in Organic Horticulture at WITT in New Plymouth and he is now actively growing vegetables to feed himself, family and friends as opposed to buying supermarket vegies. Bruce is absolutely amazed at the flavour of organically grown food and is pleased to be able to share his new knowledge with anyone who is interested. Bruce has learnt that by listening to practiced gardeners and observing the organic ideals of companion planting, liquid teas etc, it really does produce good results with less effort. Bruce is so grateful to be alive at a time when so many people, organisations and even governments are talking; heal the earth, lessen our footprint and respect the indigenous. Bruce is committed to doing his bit however small to assist in this organic awakening and in so doing maybe repay to the earth some of the damage that was caused in the ignorance of youth.