Christine Skelmersdale has been an enthusiastic gardener since childhood and has been the Managing Director of  Broadleigh Gardens, a nursery which specialises in smaller bulbs, woodland and foliage plants for 30 years. The 5 acre garden is open every weekday for a charitable donation.

A keen plant photographer with an extensive library of slides. An inspirational lecturer, she lectures widely in Britain and abroad both on gardening topics and plants in the wild (China, Nepal, S.Andes etc.). She also specialises in Day Courses on the background and use of bulbs creatively in the garden, but also has a long list of lectures  

Author of 'Creative Gardening with Bulbs' (1989), she writes articles and reviews for, amongst others, The Plantsman, The Daily Telegraph, Gardeners' World Magazine and Readers' Digest.

She has recently retired as a member of the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society after 11 years. She was a member of the Gardens Committee, with special responsibility of Rosemoor, is Vice Chairman of the Daffodil and Tulip Committee and a member of the Daffodil and Tulip Year Book Committee, as well as the Iris Committee.

Species peonies are one of her passions and she is a founder member of the International Peony Species Network (SPIN) .There is a large collection of peonies at Broadleigh.

Recently retired as President of Friends of the Bristol Botanic Garden, she was heavily involved in the move to The Holmes and the creation of the new garden. She remains on the Curatorial Advisory Committee.

She has made frequent television appearances and has recently written and presented the bulb section on the Wisley Collections video.