On sale from Thursday 22 October 2026, from 10am.
Click link below to sign up for waitlist & be notified when available!
- 14 speakers
- 10 hours of talks and discussions
- Professional development at your own pace
How can we respond to increasing pressures on our gardens, landscapes and ecosystems as drought becomes a growing challenge?
Join speakers including James Basson, Dr Chris Gibson, Giacomo Guzzon, Professor James Hitchmough, Mattis Köpe, Nick Macer, Dr Brenda Parker, Fernanda Rionda, Dr Henrik Sjöman, Tom Stuart-Smith, Millie Souter and Dr Harry Watkins to delve into this question with a range of answers.
In September 2026, Tom Stuart-Smith Studio hosted Working with Drought: Planting for Changing Climates, the third in its series of two-day events exploring key issues in contemporary landscape and planting design, following Working with Earth in 2024 and Working with Water in 2025.
Bringing together an exceptional group of planting designers, landscape architects, horticulturists, botanists and researchers, the symposium explored the challenges and opportunities presented by drought, from plant selection and water conservation to new approaches to ecological planting and climate-resilient landscapes.
The event sold out, with a long waiting list for tickets. For the first time, we have professionally recorded the full two-day symposium and made it available to watch online, offering an opportunity to revisit the talks and discussions, or catch up if you missed the event.
With contributions spanning practical experience, research and ecological thinking, Working with Drought offers fresh perspectives and valuable insights for anyone interested in how we select, grow and design with plants in a changing climate.
Who is it for?
Whether you’re a landscape architect, garden designer, horticulturist, gardener or simply interested in the future of planting, Working With Drought offers new perspectives on how plants respond to water scarcity, how we can work with local conditions, and how our planting choices can help create more resilient landscapes.
What’s included?
Day 1
Tom Stuart-Smith Working with Drought: An Introduction
Professor James HitchmoughDrought Tolerance, Plant Distribution and Conceptualising Drought Responses in Practice
Fernanda Rionda The Dry Season Is Not the Off-Season: Designing with Seasonal Drought in Highland Mexico
Group discussion With Tom Stuart-Smith, Fernanda Rionda and James Hitchmough
James Basson Ten Years of a Dry Garden: Landscape and Planting for Drought
Mattis Köpe Hamburg and the Ecology of Plants Used at Planten un Blomen
Millie Souter Planting and Gardening in Sand and What We Have Learned from the Drought This Summer
Jonny Bruce Propagating for Climate Resilience: Lessons from The Field Nursery and Prospect Cottage
Day 2
Julia Boulton and Dr Chris GibsonLearning from Beth: ‘Right Plant, Right Place’, Right for the Plants, for Us and for the Planet
Dr Henrik Sjöman Evidence-based Tree Selection: The Importance of Site- and Species-specific Knowledge When Designing with Trees for Dry Urban Climates
Dr Harry Watkins Untangling Plants: The Ecology and Evolution of Plants in a Changing Climate
Group discussion With Dr Chris Gibson, Julia Boulton and Dr Henrik Sjöman, chaired by Dr Harry Watkins
Dr Brenda Parker Water Activity: Microbial Responses to Scarcity and Saturation
Giacomo Guzzon Selecting Shrubs for Challenging, Dry Urban Contexts in Times of Global Warming, from Ecological and Design Perspectives
Nick Macer Drought, What Drought? A Plant Nerd’s Observations on Species Resilience Across the World
Watch the full two-day symposium online
·Format: Online video recordings
·Includes: Both days of talks and group discussions
·Total running time: 10 hours
·Access: 12 months
All profits from the symposium will support the work of The Serge Hill Project for Gardening, Creativity and Health CIC.