Gardening guru returns to the coast

GARDENING guru, television personality and magazine editor Tanya Visser will share her green wisdom – not to mention her uproarious sense of humour- with guests at a local fund-raising breakfast for the Sunflower Fund.

The Shelly Centre, in association with the fund, is organising this elegant ‘Charitea’ Breakfast event for South Coast women, at the Desroches Hotel in Margate on Saturday, August 8, from 9am to 11am. Proceeds will be used to support the incredible work the Sunflower Fund does for children with leukaemia.

The talk by guest speaker Tanya is not to be missed. She was a huge hit when she spoke at a Tuesday Rostrum lunch some months ago and she remains one of the women’s club’s most popular guests. If you have green fingers, make sure you book early for the breakfast as events where Tanya is a guest speaker always sell out fast.

Although she is the editor of The Gardener and Die Tuinier magazines, the presenter of The Gardener television series and a popular speaker, Tanya is first and foremost a gardener and is passionate about making things grow. Her gardening career started at a young age, when she helped her mother and father in the veggie patch. To this day she loves growing her own vegetables for the kitchen. She also nurtures an impressive succulent collection and her fascinating collection of grasses is expanding. This is in spite of the fact that her busy working schedule leaves her with precious little time for gardening.

Tanya studied horticulture at what was then Natal Technikon. After qualifying as a horticulturist she began her career with a stint in a garden centre. There she learnt the tricks of the trade and expanded her plant business knowledge. After a respectable nine years in the green industry she moved on to join the world of publishing. A hugely successful editor and presenter, she is one of South Africa’s best-known gardening personalities. As a speaker she comes highly recommended and even those who are not members of the green fingered brigade would find her fascinating, entertaining and a wise but seriously funny speaker.

Tickets for the breakfast are R180 and this includes Tanya’s talk, a two-course breakfast, a goodie bag and the chances of winning spot prizes.To book, contact 039 3151304.

Even if you are horticulturally challenged, Tanya will teach you at least a green trick or two – and your support for the elegant morning will definitely help the Sunflower Fund to grow.