This year’s speakers reflect a broad spectrum of ways in which designers, horticulturists and thinkers engage with the living world — from ecological technology and historic plant collections to landscape design, restoration and the philosophy of our relationship with nature.
Date: Saturday, 28th February 2026
Venue: Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport Hotel Conference Centre, Northwood Park, Santry, Dublin D09 X9X2 (click for map)
Time: Registration opens 8am. Seminar 9am-5.30pm.
Tickets
Tickets for the 2026 GLDA Seminar The Interconnection of All Things are now available.
All tickets include coffee breaks and a buffet lunch.
• Full Ticket – for non-members and for those who want to renew their Friend subscription for 2026–27. Includes seminar admission and a one-year GLDA Friend subscription.
• Student Ticket – for students with valid student ID.
To buy your tickets, click here.
GLDA Members and current Friends
Members and existing Friends receive a private link to their discounted ticket. If you have not received your link but believe you should have, please contact info@glda.ie.
Speakers
Based in the UK, environmental entrepreneur and inventor Galen Fulford is the founding director of Biomatrix Water, a company pioneering modular floating ecosystems that restore water quality and biodiversity in urban waterways.
With projects delivered in 20 countries, Galen combines ecological engineering and design innovation to create living infrastructure.
In his talk, Designing and Building Floating Gardens and Parks, he will explore international case studies and share concepts developed for Dublin’s Grand Canal Basin.
Head Gardener at the National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh, Co. Wicklow, Seamus O’Brien is a horticulturist, author and plant explorer whose journeys have taken him across Asia, Australasia, and both North and South America.
A Fellow of the Linnean Society, he is dedicated to the study and conservation of historic plant collections.
His presentation, The National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh: The Evolution of an 18th-Century Irish Garden, traces the transformation of this historic estate from its monastic origins to one of Ireland’s most ambitious garden restoration projects.
Follow Seamus on Instagram.
US-based landscape designer and author Margie Ruddick is known for her pioneering approach that bridges ecology and high design. Her work spans the United States and abroad, with projects in India, China and Mexico, and has been widely recognised through major awards for innovation and environmental leadership.
A long-time educator, Margie has taught at leading universities including Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
In her talk, Restoration in the Garden: From the Professional to the Personal, she reflects on what “restoration” means — in ecological, creative and personal terms — and how design can serve as a form of renewal.
With over twenty years of practice, Urquhart & Hunt work from studios in Somerset, UK, and Cork, Ireland, creating landscapes that place ecological restoration at the heart of design.
Their projects — from the public Giardini Pistola in Italy to the Rewilding Britain Landscape at the 2022 Chelsea Flower Show — explore the evolving relationship between people, nature, and place. They also collaborate with Piet Oudolf on private and public projects, including the Hauser & Wirth Art Gallery in Somerset.
In Designing with Nature, Lulu and Adam present their vision of the garden as a living dialogue between the natural and the cultivated world — where the gardener’s role evolves beyond maintenance to that of curator, observer, and guardian.
The best rates tend to be available by directly with the hotel. Call the hotel (01 862 8888) to ask for GLDA seminar rate, but compare the cost by checking the hotel’s online booking system too as rates may vary.
BYOB … Bring Your Own Bag!
Be sure to bring your own bag (no, it doesn’t really have to be a GLDA one) with you to seminar so you can take home a selection of suppliers’ brochures which will be available on the day.
