KEN BEATTIE
(Friday, March 30 at 3pm & 6pm)
Winnipeg, MB

Ken Beattie's career path has taken him to the four corners of the earth fuelling his passion for people and all things green and growing. As well as developing award-winning television programs specific to the changing needs of Canadians, Ken has reached out to the world's communities becoming involved in many ground-breaking initiatives.  Focused on improving the way people manage the earth's resources, Ken proves that the smallest changes can make a world difference.

Recently retired, Ken continues to delight audiences worldwide aboard various cruise ships with his continuing series, “The Earth’s Garden”. The remarkable connections between peoples and plants provide endless entertainment value for thousands.

SARA WILLIAMS
(Saturday, March 31 at 1pm & 5pm)
Saskatoon, SK

Sara Williams, retired as the horticultural specialist of the University of Saskatchewan, is author of In A Cold land: Saskatchewan’s Horticultural Pioneers. With Hugh Skinner, she has written Best Trees and Shrubs for the Prairies, Best Groundcovers and Vines for the Prairies, and Gardening, Naturally: A Chemical-free handbook for the Prairies. She is currently working on a revised edition of Creating the Prairie Xeriscape. Sara holds a B.A from the University of Michigan in English and History as well as a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan in Horticulture. She developed her first garden in the 1960s in Tanzania and now gardens on 5 acres near Saskatoon.  

JUNE FLANAGAN
(Sunday, April 1 at 3pm)
Lethbridge, AB

June Flanagan is a botanist, horticultural consultant, and author with a M.Sc. in Plant Science and a B.Sc. in Environmental Horticulture.  Her professional career of over thirty years includes work as a botanical garden specialist and as a research associate on studies of native plants as well as temperate and tropical food crops.  She has cultivated plants in the challenging Chinook zone of southern Alberta for fifteen years, and designed the Garden of Native Prairie Plants at the Galt Museum in Lethbridge.

Her fourth and latest book, Edible Plants for Prairie Gardens, is a comprehensive guide to growing over 100 fruits, vegetables and herbs in a short-season climate.  She also wrote Native Plants for Prairie Gardens, and is co-author of The Prairie Gardener's Sourcebook, and Garden of Serenity: Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden. 

DAWN VAESSEN
(Sunday April 1 at 12pm)
Saskatoon, SK

Dawn Vaessen is the author of the book Perfect Perennials for the Prairie Gardener (Fifth House 2011). A Saskatchewan native, she is a secondary social studies teacher in Calgary and holds a BA and Bed from the University of Saskatchewan. In 2006 Dawn completed the Master Gardener training program at the Calgary Zoo. Currently, Dawn holds a position on the Board of Directors for the Calgary Horticultural Society and enjoys sharing her passion for prairie growing with anyone who is willing to listen. The subject of gardening with dogs has become Dawn’s newest obsession since she acquired a Great Dane puppy two years ago and has had to completely revamp her garden plan.