The Events Committee of the RHSI organise a full and varied programme of events for members and guests. Some events must be pre-booked. Early booking is advisable and bookings are taken on a first come first served basis.
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Lectures take place on Wednesday evenings and during the winter months, on Saturdays afternoons. There is a fantastic range of prominent speakers from gardeners to designers and plant specialists from Ireland and abroad who share a wealth of experience and photographs.
Floral Art demonstrations also take place on Wednesday evenings. We have many well known floral artists from Ireland and occasionally from abroad who come and show us new and innovative ways of creating flower arrangements. Gala demonstrations organised at Christmas are always a sell-out and early booking is advisable.
Day tours are organised during the summer months and are extremely popular. The tours consist of visits to gardens of which many are not usually open to the general public, as well as visits to other well known gardens. Travel is by coach leaving from south Dublin but with the option to meet the coach along the route for country members is required.
Overnight tours in Ireland and abroad are arranged each year. These are also very popular and can be booked up very quickly.
All events are listed on the programme. At times a last minute opportunity for a special garden visit or lecture may arise and these are posted on the website and sent to members by email as soon as they become available.
Venues
Lectures and floral art demonstrations are usually held in Wesley House, Leeson Park, Dublin 4. Some lectures and seminars are held in the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. Full details are listed under each event.
Non members are very welcome to join our events many of which must be pre-booked. Occasionally events will be restricted to members only.
For further information please contact Deborah Bailey at events@rhsi.ie
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If you prefer, you can view these events in a calendar format.
BOOK AVAILABLE EVENTS (NON MEMBERS)
RHSI Members: Please log into Members Area to book.
An Evening with Tom Hart Dyke
Wednesday, November 19th, 2025
7:30pm | Online via Zoom
Free for RHSI Members | Guests €8.00
Adventurer. Plant hunter. Storyteller. Survivor.
We are thrilled to welcome Tom Hart Dyke – a man whose life story is as extraordinary as the plants he collects. In March 2000, while on a plant-hunting expedition through the notorious Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia, Tom and his travelling companion, Paul Winder, were kidnapped by armed guerrillas. They were held hostage for nine long months, enduring danger, uncertainty, and the constant threat of execution.
During this ordeal, Tom found an unlikely lifeline: designing his dream World Garden in the pages of his diary. He imagined a living map of the globe, filled with plants from every corner of the Earth, planted in their country of origin. Against all odds, Tom and Paul were released in December 2000, and the dream of that garden became a reality in the 18th-century walled garden at Lullingstone Castle, Kent.
Since then, Tom has been unstoppable – travelling the world in search of rare and unusual plants, writing the best-selling book The Cloud Garden, appearing on television, and captivating audiences with his unique blend of botanical expertise, infectious enthusiasm, and gripping adventure tales.
In this special evening talk, Tom will share stories from his extraordinary life – from jungles and mountaintops to the creation of one of Britain’s most remarkable gardens – reminding us of the resilience of the human spirit and the universal magic of plants.
Zoom talks are free for RHSI members. A link will be emailed to you two days before the event. Guests are very welcome – tickets can be purchased below. Price: €8.00.
RHSI,
Laurelmere Cottage,
Marlay Park,
Grange Road,
Rathfarnham,
Dubin 16,
D16 H9T4,
Ireland.
Tel: +353 1 493 7154
Email: info@rhsi.ie
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