Tara Nolan » Speaking Engagements

2019 Speaking engagements

admin — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 14:58:51 +0000

I’m working on a new project this year, so I’ve only booked a small number of speaking engagements. Here’s where I’ll be!

March 18: St. Catharines Horticultural Society

March 19: Milne House Garden Club

April 9: Orangeville Horticultural Society

April 13: Lee Valley Tools Burlington (free in-store talk and book signing)

April 16: East Gwillimbury Garden & Horticultural Society

April 23: Alliston & District Horticultural Society

April 24: Brooklin Horticultural Society

And I’ve already booked some talks for 2020…

Richmond Hill Horticultural Society: March 3

Brantford Waterwise Gardening Seminar: March 9

Canada Blooms: March 13

Trenton Horticultural Society: June 18

2018 speaking engagements

admin — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 15:52:16 +0000

One of the most fun tangents of my garden writing career is the opportunity to speak to organizations, garden clubs and horticultural societies about the gardening topics I’m passionate about.

My main topic is about raised beds (I’ve included a synopsis below). I also run longer workshops.

Raised Bed Revolution: Why raised beds rule
Whether you have a teeny tiny patio or a big yard, raised beds are a great gardening solution that allow you to garden almost anywhere. There are also multiple benefits to building raised bed gardens, from covering up poor soil and providing better accessibility to extending the growing season. Learn about the benefits, and come away inspired by ideas that you can use to create your own raised bed. Not handy? No problem! There are lots of premade kits available to let you get started right away. You’ll also learn where to put your new garden, what soil to use and what to plant—edibles, as well as ornamentals for the pollinators!

Please email me at taranolan00[at]gmail.com if you are interested in booking me for a talk. Besides my expertise in raised beds, I also can provide a presentation about Garden BFFs: Why you should plant ornamentals in your edible garden and vice versa. My partners and I have written about this topic on Savvy Gardening. I can also adapt my talks to suit the audience.

Here is where I’m booked in 2018.

January 11: Brantford Garden Club
March 5: City of Brantford
March 9: Canada Blooms
March 14: Scarborough Horticultural Society
March 17: Wilmot Horticultural Society
April 9: Oro-Medonte Horticultural Society
April 10: Royal Botanical Garden
April 19: Westdale Library
April 21: Lee Valley Tools
April 23: Markham Horticultural Society
May 2: Etobicoke Horticultural Society
May 7: Glen Morris Horticultural Society
September 13: Niagara Master Gardeners
October 10: Uxbridge Garden Club
October 20: Lincoln Garden Club
October 23: Guelph Horticultural Society

2017 speaking engagements

admin — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 20:03:00 +0000

In 2016, I gave my “Why Raised Beds Rule” talk to 18 different garden clubs, horticultural societies, municipalities, master gardener groups and even my alma mater, McMaster University. I have a number of talks booked for 2017.

Please email me at taranolan00[at]gmail.com if you are interested in booking me for a talk. Besides my expertise in raised beds, I also have a talk about Garden BFFs: Why you should plant ornamentals in your edible garden and vice versa. My partners and I have written about this topic on Savvy Gardening. I can also adapt my talks to suit the audience.

2017 speaking engagements

* March 10, 2017: Canada Blooms
* April 8, 2017: Barrie Garden Club
* April 10, 2017: Author event at Hamilton Public Library’s Central Branch
* April 11, 2017: Beeton Horticultural Society
* April 13, 2017: Terryberry branch of Hamilton Public Library
* April 18, 2017: Ancaster Horticultural Society
* April 20, 2017: Kenilworth branch of Hamilton Public Library
* April 21, 2017: Mount Hamilton Horticultural Society
* April 22, 2017: Aylmer & District Horticultural Society
* April 23, 2017: Plant World
* April 24, 2017: Ayr Horticultural Society
* May 1, 2017: Waterdown branch of Hamilton Public Library
* May 3, 2017: Toronto Botanical Garden
* May 6: Lee Valley Tools, Burlington
* June 6: Lee Valley Tools, Vaughan
* June 12, 2017: Georgina-Brock Garden Club
* June 15, 2017: East York Garden Club
* September 25, 2017: Midland Horticultural Society

2016 speaking engagements

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 01:58:00 +0000

Beginning in March, I will be giving a number of talks at gardening shows, as well as to garden clubs and horticultural societies. All of my talks this season will focus on raised bed gardening in anticipation of the publication of my gardening book, Raised Bed Revolution. Here is a list of where I’ll be:

* March 2: Halton Master Gardeners
* March 4: Stratford Garden Festival
* March 9: I will be part of a gardening special on WNED Buffalo called Garden Wisdom
* March 11: Canada Blooms
* March 17: Applewood Garden Club
* April 9: Peterborough Garden Show
* April 13: City of Guelph, Healthy Landscapes 2016 Speakers Series
* April 20: Cloverleaf Garden Club of Mississauga
* April 21: Applewood Garden Club
* April 30: Region of Waterloo – Water Efficiency
* May 17: Dundas Public Library
* May 24: Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society
* June 9: Toronto Botanical Garden book signing at the Organic Farmers’ Market
* September 26: Royal Botanical Garden Auxiliary
* October 20: McMaster University Lunch Series
* October 29: Barrie’s Garden Club, District 16 Annual Fall Seminar @ Tangle Creek Golf Club
* November 7: Dundas Garden Club
* November 16: Flamborough Horticultural Society (here’s a piece about it in the local paper, The Flamborough Review)

Coming soon: Raised Bed Revolution, my first gardening book

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 22:21:48 +0000

In the spring of 2016, my first gardening book – Raised Bed Revolution – will be published and available in North America and the UK.

I wrote the book for Cool Springs Press, a Minneapolis-based publishing company that is now a part of The Quarto Group. The subject of this book appealed to both my creative side that likes to make things and to my gardening side, so it was so fun to write and organize.

Raised Bed Revolution features several DIY projects with step-by-step photography, tons of inspirational images from generous gardeners and gardening companies, and lots of helpful tips on building and planting. There’s even a chapter called Not Handy? No Problem! for those who want raised beds in their yard, but who don’t have the woodworking know-how or tools to build them.

Most of the projects that have DIY steps were photographed by Donna Griffith, built by Scott McKinnon (in my yard and in my family’s yards) and illustrated by Len Churchill. I’m honoured to have worked with all of them and to feature their talents in my book.

I already have several speaking gigs lined up for 2016 to talk about the book, including Canada Blooms.

I will also be presenting to The Halton Master Gardeners in March and at the Peterborough Garden Show and to the Cloverleaf Garden Club in April.

The book can be preordered by following this link.

Spring speaking gigs: Canada Blooms and Canadale Nurseries

admin — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 21:32:54 +0000

Niki Jabbour and I represented Savvy Gardening in a presentation we gave on the first day of Canada Blooms (March 13, 2015). We used the festival’s theme of “Play” to come up with our talk: Garden BFFs – How edibles and ornamentals can play together nicely in the garden.

Kathy Renwald mentioned our talk in the Hamilton Spectator: Canada Blooms: Inspiration for winter-weary gardeners

Mark Cullen listed our talk as one of the 10 reasons to visit Canada Blooms in the Toronto Star.

The following Saturday, March 21, 2015, I presented our Garden BFFs talk at Canadale Nurseries’ Spring Garden Show.

Lee Valley tools seminar

admin — Sat, 10 May 2014 17:44:48 +0000

Lee Valley Tools celebrated the opening of their new Vaughn store in May with a whole weekend of seminars and special events. I was asked to create containers throughout the morning of Saturday, May 10.

One of the containers I planted!