An Evening with Steve Edney, The Land & The No Name Nursery

Event information

The Land & The No Name Nursery
Life After The Salutation

Join us for an evening with gardeners Steve & Louise, followed by audience Q&A and a plant sale to conclude.

Steve Edney
Steve has been perfecting his art for 30 years. After studying at Hadlow College in Horticulture and Merrist Wood college studying Arboriculture, he spent several years as a highly respected private gardener, tree surgeon and designer. In 2005, he joined The Salutation to helm its huge restoration project, setting out a 5-year plan of restoration that was completed on time and within budget, the gardens were recognised as amongst the finest in the country winning multiple awards including Britain’s most romantic garden 2018 by the good hotel guide.

Steeped in the practical art of gardening, Steve uses direct observation and his love of the natural world to supplement his technical skills as a grower, breeder, horticulturalist and arboriculturalist. His drive for creativity and experimentation ensures the scope of his expertise continues to encompass new horizons.
Accolades include appointment to the RHS Herbaceous Committee and membership of the RHS plant trial forums, multiple RHS Gold medal winner, “Best in show” Hampton court 2019. Steve has appeared on tv several times including Gardeners world.

Previous trials include, Zinnia (chairman), cosmos, new guinea impatiens, Dahlia, zantedeschia, calibrachoa, Agapanthus and nepeta, current trials Steve’s working on are Dahlia and chair of the Baptisia trial.
He is a contributor to numerous professional publications such as gardens illustrated and contributes to the award-winning “Sunday Gardening” show on BBC Radio Kent. in 2017 Steve won a silver-gilt at the London autumn show and received the “new design” award for innovation.

In 2018 Steve and The salutation garden won Gold at RHS Hampton Court flower show in the floral marque for a display of exotic plants in 2019 Steve won a Gold medal at Chelsea and later that year won Gold and the coveted “Tudor rose award” for best in show at Hampton court flower show. Louise and the garden team at salutation were instrumental in the creation of displays.

In 2019 Steve and The Salutation won a gold award from Kent wildlife trust for gardening for wildlife, The Salutation was the only garden open to the public to receive this award.

Steve is passionate about creating gardens that are homes for people and wildlife, his home garden which he created with his partner Louise has appeared in national gardening magazines, had several book mentions and been on Gardeners world. The garden has received a gold award for gardening for wildlife by the Kent wildlife trust on numerous occasions.

Since 2019 Steve and Louise have been working on their own project “The Land” where he and his partner Louise have built The No Name Nursery a sustainable plant nursery in Kent. Steve also works as a freelance garden consultant.

Steve is an international lecturer talking on many gardening topics all firmly rooted in his practical gardening life.

Louise Dowle
Louise grew up in the medieval town of Sandwich in east Kent and gardened from a young age with her mother who was a keen gardener and lover of the natural world.

Louise’s early career saw her studying art, running a shop, working as a landlady and as a seamstress before career changing at 27 when she apprenticed at The Salutation gardens a Lutyens House and Gardens.
Her attention to detail and creative eye soon saw her become the assistant head gardener at the salutation.
In 2013 Louise left to set up as a self employed gardener working for multiple clients as both a gardener and designer with a heavy lean towards plant driven design.

Louise’s collaboration with irises of Sissinghurst and the French iris breeder Cayeux Iris received a Gold Medal in the floral marquee in 2016, something she repeated in 2017.

Louise has 2 national collections of plants, persicaria virginiana ccv and pseudopanax, the former led her to be part of the RHS trial forum for the persicaria in 2019/2020.

At home (sweetbriar) Louise is passionate about creating a high impact low maintenance garden with her partner Steve which is an exotic jungle paradise that is home to plants, people and wildlife, it opens for the National garden scheme. The front garden is oozes cottage garden charm which in 2019 won Kents most wildlife friendly front garden as well as previous gold awards from Kent wildlife for gardening for wildlife.

Louise was involved with the creation of the Chelsea gold medal winning display of seed heads in 2019 and in the exotic display which won gold and” best in show” at Hampton Court Flower show 2019.