A BBC gardening personality will be visiting a Brent Knoll garden centre next month (March) to host an afternoon talk and book-signing session.

Tom Hart Dyke will be appearing at Sanders GardenWorld on March 9 to tie in with the launch of his new TV series Return to Lullingstone and deliver a speech called World Map of Plants.

Tom hit the headlines in 2000 when he was kidnapped and held hostage for nine months in the jungles of Colombia during a plant hunt.

On his release from captivity he returned to his ancestral home at Lullingstone Castle in Kent where he set about creating something positive from his jungle experience and designed the UK's first ever World Garden of Plants.

"The idea for the world map garden as a tourist attraction for Lullingstone was born out of my need to distract myself from the terrible prospect of execution in the jungle," he said.

He will be at Sanders from 1pm with the talk taking place between 2.30pm and 3.30pm, followed by a signing session of his top ten selling book The Cloud Garden.

Tickets cost £8 per person and are now on sale at the garden centre by visiting in person or by ringing 01278-761111.