Horniman Plant Fair

Taking place across our beautiful Gardens, you can buy plants from small and independent nurseries run by specialist growers who are passionate about the plants they produce.

The Nurseries provide a spectrum of plants including cottage-garden favourites, shade-loving plants, alpines, trees and shrubs, succulents and many more.

Speak directly to knowledgeable growers and get advice from experts about what you are growing… or would like to!

Programme

Horniman Gardens Tours

12pm – 12.30pm, 1pm – 1.30pm, 2pm – 2.30pm 

Led by our very own Garden Volunteers Team, join one of our tours to explore and learn more about the Horniman Gardens.  

Talks

Curated by Horniman Head of Horticulture Errol Reuben Fernandes.

Colin Stewart | Practical Gardening as a Creative Practice

12.45pm – 1.05pm 

How can gardeners use self-expression to enrich the beauty of the places they garden? Colin will explore what we can learn about working instinctively and emotionally from practical and amateur gardeners, often the creators of the most exciting and atmospheric spaces.

Wagner Kreusch | Insights and Inspirations

1.15pm – 1.35pm 

Born in Brazil, Wagner Kreusch is known for his graphic, sculptural creations inspired by the art of Ikebana and his extensive career in floristry education. Wagner will share insights into his mesmerising, alchemical creative process, talk about his journey into the profession and why he finds gardens and nature so inspiring. 

Charlie Chase | Gardening as Play: Rethinking Growth, Design, and Connection

1.50pm – 2.10pm 

Is gardening inherently virtuous? Join Charlie as he questions its ties to control, saviour narratives, and ecological performance. He’ll explore how we can have a more intuitive, egoless relationship with gardening – one rooted in care without the need for justification or a finished ‘product’.

Maymana Arefin | Land, resistance, and the politics of growing

 2.20pm – 2.40pm 

Maymana is well known for their work as a food grower and facilitator of the ‘misery medicine’ programme with queer, disabled, BIPOC, and working-class communities. They’ll explore how tending the earth becomes a radical act of environmental and land justice – reclaiming our severed connections to land, creating space for memory and resistance, and nurturing hope amid climate crisis and ecological devastation. 

Errol Reuben Fernandes, Maymana Arefin, Charlie Chase and Colin Stewart | Panel discussion

3pm – 3.45pm  

As we find our way through crises and challenges in climate, biodiversity, food and wellbeing, what value do gardeners and their quiet, cyclical work bring to creating a more sustainable, connected future? Join our speakers for a special panel exploring the role of a gardener in a changing world and how their work speaks to the environmental and social problems we face today. 

Dried flower arranging workshop

11.45am – 12.45am, 1.30pm – 2.30pm, 3pm – 4pm 

Create a stunning arrangement of dried seasonal flowers, seed heads and pods with expert florist, Yolly Chiaramello. You’ll walk away with your own beautiful arrangement, top tips on how to create stunning displays at home and a Niwaki pin, an essential tool for sustainable arrangements. All materials are provided. 

Please note that dried flower arranging requires a separate ticket that includes entry to the Plant Fair.

Live botanical installation with Wagner and Frida

Inspired by the Horniman Gardens, join Wagner and Frida live as they create a unique botanical sculpture using waste materials sourced from the garden. In collaboration with our Gardens team, they aim to highlight the complex, interconnected relationship between garden and Gardener. Step into their temporary studio to gain an intimate insight into their creative practice. 

Please note that the live botanical installation requires a separate ticket that does not include entry to the Plant Fair.

Butterfly House

11am – 4pm | £3.50 for everyone  

Get up close to hundreds of beautiful butterflies in our tropical indoor garden, open to Plant Fair ticket holders only. 

Animal Walk

12.30pm – 4pm 

Visit the residents of the Animal Walk including Poppy and Eva the alpaca’s as well as the sheep, chickens and goats.

UrbanCrazy Mini Golf

11am – 4pm | Adult £7, Child £4.50, Family £17.50  

Take on nine holes themed around your favourite Horniman attractions – tee-off from the Clocktower, putt past the Walrus, and try for a birdie at the Butterfly House!

This event is run in partnership with Plant Fairs Roadshow.

Although children are welcome, this event is aimed at adult visitors and there will be no children’s activities. Dogs are allowed but must be kept on a lead at all times.