Christopher Lloyd Bursary

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Deadlines for applications during the year are 1st April and 1st October. Applications will only be considered at these times.

Only applications from EU residents are accepted.

Matthew Padbury – Turkey July 2025- £639.38

The trip started in Istanbul where I stayed for a few days to take in the bustling city and to visit the Botanical Garden. I was lucky enough to have a guide around Istanbul, my good friend Kaan whom I had met during my first few months at Great Dixter. The Botanical garden was very interesting. The location is particularly unique, it’s in the middle of a busy highway and is comprised of Islands which are accessed via bridges over the road or tunnels underneath. I really enjoyed seeing the ‘Dixter’ border and the Anatolian Island which mimics the Mediterranean region. Here I met Deniz Asal who would accompany me on the rest of my trip.

North Eastern Turkey- We first flew into Trabzon and hired a car and drove towards Ikizdere where we stayed for a few days before travelling to Camlihemsin. Following a river we came across beautiful flora which was so incredibly diverse. One of our first stops was to admire a carpet of Chicory growing with Verbascums and Erigeron annuus a beautiful natural combination. Then just down the road cascading down the hillside we spotted our first Orchids, these were covered in insects particularly crickets and beautiful bright green butterflies called Brimstones, a truely magical sight.

In one day we had already experienced a lot of differing plant habitats from woodland edge, scree, disturbed land, meadow, riverside, rock, damp and dry. It was very interesting to observe the differing plant species.

2nd day – We travelled to Anzer Yaylasi which was an amazing village up in the mountains at around 2129m altitude. Here we came across a lovely family who owned a small cafe. They had two young girls who went out with their mother and picked some flowers to show us while we were enjoying a black tea. They explained what the plants are traditionally used for. The meadows and views here were truly incredible. Filled with Persicaria, Geraniums, Cornflowers, Silene, Vetch, Campanula, Rhynochocorys – an amazing flower that looks like an elephant head, Valeriana and Betonica.

3rd day – Arrived in Camlihemsin. We went up to an altitude of 2140m. Here amazingly there was still snow visible, we had a trec through the mountains to look at the flora. We were walking through carpets of Alchemilla mollis which seemed to be able to grow anywhere. Interspersed among these were Veratrums, Vaccinium, Geraniums. A few highlights up here were seeing Rhododendron luteum, Pedicularis, Aquilegia and Lilium ciliatum. My mouth is watering looking at photos as I write this report!

4th day – Our final full day in Turkey. I awoke at just before 5am to admire the scenery from my accommodation. It was an incredible cabin with a balcony overlooking the river and the mountains. After breakfast we ventured out again into the mountains. Our highest altitude of the trip 2300+ metres. Here we saw great combinations of Geranium psilostemon with its vibrant pink flowers growing with purple Campanula, magical. Seeing plants in the wild like this changes the way you think about them and how they can be used in a garden setting. It allows you to observe what plants can tolerate areas of high competition and those that cannot and the way they interact with one another.

I just want to say a huge thank you to Dixter for helping fund this trip and also the amazing team at NGBB for supporting me and allowing a member of the team to join me

Nadya Pearson, Kate Nannery, Ella King- Japan, October 2025 –£300

Nadya, Ella and Kate are gardeners working at Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons hotel. They are visiting Japan to inform their management of the hotel’s Japanese tea garden as well as to look at Japanese ingredients and fruit and vegetable production.

Nadya Ella and Kate pictured below- L-R

Gemma Daldin–Latvia May 2025– £700

Gemma will spend 3 months completing an internship as an expert assistant with with the Latvian Fund for Nature on a grassland restoration project which she will use to inform her Masters thesis.

Danielle Miller- Brazil, June 2025– £500

Danielle will join a research project at the Biodiversity Research Institute (IPBio) in the Amazon rainforest focused on bioluminescent mushrooms, under the guidance of Professor Cassius Stevani from the University of São Paulo. The Amazon rainforest, particularly the Iporanga region, boasts an astonishing diversity of bioluminescent mushrooms, with IPBio leading the efforts in research, conservation, and sustainable economic development. “My role in this project will encompass various aspects, including field research, lab work, taxonomy, and weekly night-time visits to the rainforest.”

Maria Torrente Novoa -New Zealand, January 2025– £500

In January 2025 Maria visited New Zealand to look at native alpines growing in the North and South
Island in wild locations and botanical/private garden. She was able to collect photographic and written data on growing conditions and cultivation and she will now use this information to duplicate those conditions in Scotland. Maria also built links with other botanical gardens and private collectors for future material exchange, and was able to compare her experiences working at Kevock Garden Plants Nursery and studying at RBGE with other botanical gardens and nurseries.

You can read a report about her experiences here.

Elliot Chandler- Turkey, October 2024- £500

Elliot joined an eight-day botanical trip to the Pontic Alps of north-east Turkey in October 2024, organised and run by the International Dendrology Society (IDS).

“I am early in my career as a gardener but I already have a passion for trees and woody plants, I am hugely interested in woodland gardening and plant conservation, as well as nature and the environment, things which complement each other very well. This IDS tour of the colchic forests in north-east Turkey is a huge opportunity for me to learn from knowledgeable people and study fascinating plants in the wild, including many which are of great importance to horticulture in the UK, especially through the lens of climate change. I am incredibly excited to have this chance to see such rare and precious habitats which are unfortunately at risk of being lost altogether.”

You can read a report of Elliot’s trip here.

Theo Charnley-Japan May 2024- £850

“I am a garden designer based in London where I work to improve biodiversity and ecology across both private and public spaces.

I have always admired Japanese gardens not only for the craftsmanship and attention to detail, but also the restraint and level of control which is often so beautifully demonstrated. Last year when I was working at Chelsea Flower Show I saw a team of Japanese gardeners meticulously brushing moss for hours on end and awestruck, realised just how much I stand to learn from their culture and work ethic. 

The trip is a 5 day training program in Kyoto created by landscape firm Ueyokato to teach Japanese gardening techniques to future generations. It consists of a series of lectures, site visits and workshops covering a range of topics from tree pruning, to stone arrangements to waterfall techniques.

They will also break down Kyoto’s unique garden aesthetic by looking at the relationship between its gardens and environment, and a key aim for me is to understand how Japanese gardens, particularly in Kyoto, emulate nature and natural environments to create spaces that are truly restorative.”

You can read Theo’s report about his trip here.

Olivia Lockyear, Colombia, November 2023– £500

“In this project, I set out to understand what makes tropical dry forest so unique and how
horticulture can assist with reforestation efforts of this precious and neglected habitat. What
can the role of botanical horticulture play in ecosystem restoration?”

Olivia spent time volunteering at the Botanic Garden in Cartagena with the horticulture and seed bank teams, as well as visiting local habitats.

Reports of her time can be read here and here.

Lawrence Weston- USA August/ September 2023- £500

Lawrence (pictured right) who is a trainee at RHS Rosemoor visited North East USA to look at established urban food growing projects to see how these ideas could be used in UK cities to make them more self-sufficient. Read his report here