Garden Speaker

Steven Biggs is a professional garden writer, garden speaker, and horticulturist.

Real Gardening Experience

Steven shovelling sh** for his garden.Steven speaks from the heart when it comes to gardening. He is a life-long gardener who has managed to garden wherever he has lived—creating allotment gardens, container gardens, indoor gardens, and gardens hewn from overgrown backyards of rented houses.

Along with a horticultural science degree, his work experience spans plant propagation, greenhouses, biological controls, nursery and conservatory plants, and horticultural supplies.

Check out pictures of Steven’s garden.

Gardening Know-How Made Accessible

As a horticulturist, life-long gardener, and journalist, he has a knack for taking the barrage of gardening information that’s out there and translating it into practical, no-nonsense advice.

Gardening Talks that Connect

He believes a good talk is more than slides with bullet points and pictures: It brings together good content with engaging delivery. Of course, it must be FUN too…and he likes to make it fun.

Steven enjoys bringing out the energy in larger groups, and equally enjoys the intimacy that smaller groups allow.

See where Steven will be speaking soon.

Read about Steven’s speaking experience.

Gardening Talks Offered

Here are some of the gardening talks that Steven currently offers. Suitable for green and brown thumbs:

Edibles in the Urban Landscape

The days of veggiephobia are over. Now you can have a visually stunning garden and eat it too. Front yard or back, you can incorporate edibles into your existing garden beds if you don't have space for a stand-alone vegetable garden. If you have thought of a front yard veggie garden but weren’t sure how to start, or want to find out how to incorporate a few tomato plants with your perennials, this talk is for you. It’s a fun look at keeping your blood pressure in check by growing edibles in the city. If you’ve ever wanted to grow edibles, but need some inspiration, this talk is for you.

Crops that Wow

If your veggie gardening space is limited, why grow the green beans you can easily buy. Instead, paint the supper table with a surprising array of coloured veg including red okra, purple beans, yellow carrots, rainbow chard, and golden beets. Then add an exotic touch with intercultural crops such as bitter melon or Malabar spinach, treats that are hard to find at the supermarket. If you grow veg or want to grow veg, but want to be a bit different, this talk is for you.

Kids in the Garden

Get your kids stoked about gardening! It’s a great way for them to learn to love eating vegetables, to introduce them to nature—and to give yourself an opportunity to work in the garden. Whether they’re poking seeds into the ground, peering at purple flowers, or giggling at a wriggling worm, kids thrive in the garden. If you’ve wanted to get your kids gardening but didn’t know how to start—or if you want some new ideas for gardening with kids—this talk is for you.

Figs Where You Didn’t Think You Could

Steve's talk about growing figs always stimulates a lot of questions.

So you didn’t think you could grow figs in a northern climate? Well you can—and you don’t need a greenhouse to do it. Fig trees are actually very forgiving plants that will take a lot of abuse. Steven is a self-described fig-pig who grows fig trees in Toronto. If you want the simple truth about growing a crop of figs at home—and want to know how to propagate your own fig trees—this talk is for you.

No-Fuss Backyard Fruit

Don’t have time to nurture fussy fruit trees? You can still grow your own fruit…and you can easily grow more than you need. Become self-sufficient in fruit that you can use for preserves, pies, and juice—all without the fuss that many tree fruits demand. This talk will give you the straight goods on three often-forgotten crops: currants and gooseberries; elderberries; and serviceberries. If you’ve ever wondered if you could replace store-bought juice with your own, this talk is for you.

Grow Veg in Small Spaces and Containers

Don’t throw out that desk drawer…it could be a perfect container for growing veg! You don’t need an acreage to grow lots of your own veg—and this inspiring talk will give you lots of ideas about how to maximize production from a small space. Get ideas for unique containers, find out about vertical gardening, see how easy it is to grow a rooftop garden, and get practical pointers about plant care. If you’ve ever wondered if it’s really possible to harvest lots from a small space, this talk is for you.

No Guff Vegetable Gardening

On a balcony or in the ground, anyone can grow vegetables. New to gardening? Start with a guff-free approach and discover what’s practical, what’s needed, and where to start. Already gardening? You’ll find out if that over-the-fence advice really makes sense. If you’ve always wondered whether to test your soil or how to make raised beds, this talk is for you.

Read about Steven’s business talks.

Read about Steven’s healthy eating talks.

Need a thoughtful article? Need a compelling talk?

Need clean copy? On time?

Contact Steven Biggs for professional farm, garden, and food communications.

Clear ▪ Compelling ▪ Engaging

Farm Writer. Food Writer. Garden Writer. Garden Speaker.