THE POTTING SHED

See expert gardeners lead an interactive display with hands-on participation from audience members. Put your hand up and get chosen from the audience as an apprentice - the experts will demonstrate and you (or another audience member) will then perform - from propagating to grafting to pruning, transplanting and even tool maintenance. You don't need to be an expert gardener yourself but you will be by the end of the Potting Shed feature.

Click here for the timetable.

Our Weekend Gardener Potting Shed presenters are:

FIONNA HILL

Fionna, trained in London as a professional florist, is best known as an international floral designer but has written two unrelated books, A Green Granny's Garden and Microgreens, in the last year. Both have been sensationally received, with Mircrogreens quickly selling to eight countries and plans for quick second print. Fionna is a much published writer and presenter, professional florist and stylist – an exuberant gardener with a zest for life. Fionna lives in Auckland.

ANDREW MALOY

Scots born Andrew came to New Zealand in 1974 as for nine years was a propagation supervisor for Auckland nurseries. He is an avid gardener, horticulturist, former lecturer and prolific writer who runs a bromeliad nursery from his lifestyle block at Whenuapai, west of Auckland with his wife Rhonda. Andrew has been Weekend Gardener magazine's Plant Doctor (www.plantdoctor.co.nz) for seven years and a regular feature writer. For four years Andrew was also technical writer for the Consumers' Institute Home & Garden magazine. He is a former chairman of the Royal New Zealand Horticultural Society.

MARILYN WIGHTMAN

Marilyn, is with her husband Ian, the owner / operator of The Fragrant Garden outside Feilding in the Manawatu where they grow more than 500 varieties of herbs and specialty plants. The couple have two genera plant collections also maintained within the garden. Ian holds the Plectranthus collection and Marilyn holds the Artemisia collection. These two collections are maintained in conjunction with The Herb Federation of New Zealand. Marilyn is Weekend Gardener magazine's regular herbs writer. She teaches and presents herbs.

RUSSELL FRANSHAM

Russell is an expert on subtropical, exotic and unusual plants. He is a regular writer on subtropicals for Weekend Gardener magazine. A nurseryman and designer for more than 30 year, Russell is based in at Matapouri Bay on Northland's East Coast. One of his specialties is olive cultivation.

ANDREW STEENS

Andrew is a consummate horticulturist, and vegetable columnist for Weekend Gardener magazine and author. Andrew has experience right across the fruit, vegetable and flower industries in production, post harvest operations, education, consultancy and marketing. He has devoted his life to horticulture. He has a special interest in subtropical crops, particularly heliconia and bromeliads. He is a leading breeder of bromeliads and his work can be seen on his blog.