Our Experts
Our team of expert garden advisors work together to find the best private and iconic gardens to visit around the world. Your travel experience will be greatly enhanced by our professional and knowledgeable Botanical Guides and Guest Lecturers. They will provide informative talks on specific topics and themes, as well as be on hand to answer questions during informal chats.
Travelling with our Botanical Guides
Sophie Thomson
National media personality Sophie Thomson‘s career in TV, radio and print media work focuses on the gardening arena. The avid horticulturist’s enduring love affair with gardening stems from growing up in the family nursery in the Adelaide Hills.
Jac Semmler
Jac Semmler is a plant practitioner and director of Super Bloom, a creative plant practice bringing living beauty and diversity to gardens and landscapes through planting design. She is a recognised innovator in dry summer planting design and author of the books, Super Bloom and The Super Bloom Handbook.
Simon Rickard
Celebrity gardener Simon is one of Botanica’s most experienced Botanical Guides. As former head gardener for The Diggers Club, Simon has an incredible knowledge of plants and gardens from around the world, which he loves to share.
Judy Horton OAM
Judy is an awarded horticulturist who has been a radio garden adviser for more than 25 years. She gives talks, writes regular gardening articles and was responsible for six updates of the Yates Garden Guide. She is the current editor for garden Clubs of Australia’s magazine Our Gardens.
Dr Toby Musgrave
Toby has a passion for horticulture and garden history. Based in Denmark, Toby is an authority on garden history and design, and shares his enthusiasm and knowledge as an author of many garden history books and as a presenter on Monty Don’s Lost Gardens television series.
Anthea Guthrie
Anthea turned her hobby for gardening into a career. She entered her first show garden for the Royal Horticultural Society in 2003, and has since achieved numerous accolades, including two medals at the Chelsea Flower Show and Gold for Botanica at Hampton Court Flower Show in 2015.
Teena Crawford
Teena’s long and successful horticultural career includes managing a production nursery, board member of NGIV, lecturer, and garden show judge. She has opened her own garden to the public on several occasions and loves to share her passion for plants, gardens and the environment.
Talei Kenyon
Talei has lived in many parts of Asia and the Pacific, enjoying an early introduction to exotic landscapes. Through her work with The Diggers Club, she has led a number of international tours with Botanica, sharing her knowledge of plants, garden history and the culinary world.
Julie Prent
With over 40 years as a professional horticulturist, Julie has a wealth of knowledge. She has managed her own nursery and taught horticulture for over a decade. Julie is now involved in garden design and management on the Mornington Peninsula. She is also an accomplished artist.
Tracy Foster
Based in the UK, Chelsea gold medal winning garden designer Tracy has experience as show garden judge, garden design mentor, author and RHS tutor. Passionate about gardening since childhood, Tracy has a degree in Plant Biology and has been producing award-winning gardens for over 20 years, for both private clients and at RHS shows.
Arno King
Arno is a Brisbane-based landscape architect, horticultural consultant and keen gardener. He is also known for his weekly radio broadcasts, presentations and gardening articles. Arno has an appreciation for landscape design, as well as tropical, subtropical and temperate plants. He enjoys sharing his passion for gardening.
Colin Crosbie
Colin studied horticulture and was appointed as Head Gardener to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother at Royal Lodge Windsor. Colin moved to RHS Garden Wisley and was appointed Curator in 2010 before starting his own consultancy business. He is a passionate plantsman with a keen interest in garden design.
Sarah O'Neil
Sarah is a professional gardening writer, award-winning blogger and speaker. Her columns are a regular feature of Kiwi Gardener magazine and she has written three gardening books. Sarah is also the New Zealand Brand Ambassador for Yates and Gardena.
Dr Ian Hutton
Naturalist, author and photographer Ian Hutton has lived on Lord Howe Island for more than 40 years. He has written 12 books and has also worked on a number of research projects on plants, birds, geology and climate change. Ian has also published numerous scientific papers.
Sophie Holloway
Sophie is a florist and gardener with a strong interest in art. Trained at Constance Spry, she previously worked with Kevin O’Neill Florist and was on the management team at the Mandarin Oriental HK. After returning to Melbourne, she established her own flower business.
Kitty Wiegert
Kitty Wiegert studied landscape architecture, gaining knowledge of garden art history, garden design, nomenclature and plants. She has 10 years’ experience as a tour guide, having led garden tours and cruises within Europe and specialising in the Netherlands.
Roger Fox
A passionate gardener, Roger’s studies led to a career in horticultural media. He has written widely and is the former garden editor for Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Roger is now a freelance garden writer and podcaster, spending his remaining time with his plants.
Dr Susan Thomas
Sue gained a diploma in garden design from the English Gardening School, while pursuing a career as a GP. After retiring, she concentrated on designing and building award-winning RHS show gardens and restoring her five-acre ‘Lost Garden’. She is particularly interested in Camellias and medicinal plants.