RHS The Garden Almanac 2026

Author Biography

The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 and has established itself as the leading gardening charity, with the aim of inspiring passion and excellence in the science, art and practice of horticulture. The world-famous RHS Lindley Library holds unique collections of early printed books on gardening, botanical art and photographs.Zia Allaway is an author, editor, journalist and horticulturist. She writes for magazines and national newspapers on all aspects of gardening and garden design, and has written many practical gardening books, including Eco-Gardening, Compost, TheLow Maintenance Garden, Small Gardens, Shady Gardens, the RHS Your Wellbeing Garden and the RHS Practical House Plant Book. Zia has also edited books for Frances Lincoln such as the award-winning New Wild Garden by Ian Hodgson and New Vegetable Garden Techniques by Joyce Russell. Guy Barter is chief horticulturist of the Royal Horticultural Society, providing horticultural expertise and support throughout the RHS and beyond. Through his long career, Guy has overseen Wisley’s plant trials field, has run the RHS members’ advice service (which answers 115,000 questions each year on every horticultural matter imaginable) and took on his current role in 2016. Guy has also worked as a journalist for Gardening Which? and is the author and contributor to many RHS books, including RHS How do Worms Work? (Mitchell Beazley, 2018) and RHS What’s That Weed? (DK, 2024). Guy is also the host of the RHS podcast ‘Gardening with the RHS’. Annie Soudain is an artist and printmaker from Sussex, UK. Annie's work is inspired by nature and her coastal garden, and she uses bold colours and detailed line work to produce her reduction-method linoprints. She studied at Canterbury College of Art and subsequently became an art teacher. She now exhibits her work with The Society of Botanical Artists, The Rye Society of Artists, The Sussex Guild and in local galleries, and she has a popular range of stationery, cards, calendars and puzzles with Flame Tree Publishing and Museums & Galleries.