This talk and all our lectures are FREE for Friends of the Botanical Gardens to attend. Members of the public are also welcome to join us on payment of £5 at the door on the day. Live talks are held in the Education Centre in the grounds of the Botanical Gardens - easily accessed via the Thompson Road Entrance.

Gunby Estate Hall and Gardens is located in the Lincolnshire wolds, just 7 miles from Skegness. Built in c1700 for Sir William Massingberd, second Baronet, on the site of a small manor house that had once belonged to a family called Gunby, it was the home for the Massingberd family for 250 years before being given over to the National Trust in 1967.

As a Senior Gardener at Gunby, Natasha Johnson leads a dedicated staff team of four who keep and maintain eight acres of garden at National Trust, Gunby Estate, Hall and Gardens in Lincolnshire, and she will share some of the challenges this involves.

Natasha studied History and Business studies at Canterbury Christ Church College in the 1990's and later volunteered as a gardener at Howick Hall whilst living in Northumberland under the tutelage of Head Gardener, Robert Jamieson. She then returned to college and studied Horticulture at Askham Bryan where she won the Principal's award for Best Student. During her studying, Natasha undertook work experience at RHS Harlow Carr and the Eden project. She has also volunteered at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019.

Recently in 2023, Natasha had a rare rose identified by Brigid Quest Ritson found to be growing at Gunby Hall. The rose was identified at the National Trust Rose Monograph that Natasha attended. The rose has now been propagated and conserved rather than be consigned to history. At the conference, Natasha won first prize for best flowering single bloom hybrid tea rose, Rose Ingrid Bergman.

Gunby Hall website

Gunby Hall on Instagram