The October edition of our regular newsletter News Shoots is now available to view in the password-protected Friends Area of the website. It has information on upcoming events (online and increasingly in person), a new plant recycling scheme, our plant of the month, and news of a change in leadership for the Friends.

Join us for our next online talk on Tuesday 19th October with Dr Sylvia Travers, on ‘The building of Bridgewater: breathing new life into old walls’. Sylvia is Team Leader for the Inner Walled Garden at RHS Bridgewater.

We’re delighted to report that the pavilions in the Gardens reopened on 5 October, after being closed more-or-less throughout the pandemic.

The recording of this week’s lecture on bulbs for year-round colour is now available to view in the password-protected Friends Area of the website.

Our next online lecture is on Tuesday 5th October at 10.30. Join Gail & John Summerfield of Westshores Nursery in Lincolnshire, who will explain how versatile and adaptable bulbs can be. They’ll be able to suggest bulbs for every month of the year.

Many thanks to Trisha, expert propagator and Friend of the Gardens, for stepping in at short notice and providing a lively and informative talk on the history and origin of many garden plants.

The planned lecture by Advolly Richmond on Tuesday 21 September has been postponed. So instead we are pleased to welcome Trisha Kohn to our lecture programme. Trisha will give an introduction to the origins of some of our garden plants.

We’re currently (September 2021) looking for a new Chair for the Friends, to work with an experienced and supportive Executive Committee.

We’re running two events this year for Heritage Open Days, both linked with our partner site at Sheffield General Cemetery.

Thanks to young horticulturalist James Miller for his talk on establishing a new Astilbe collection at the RHS garden at Wisley. A copy of the recording is now available to watch on the password-protected Friends Area of the website.

Our next online lecture is by horticulturalist James Miller on Tuesday 7th September at 10.30am. He’ll tell us about the creation of a new Astilbe National Collection at RHS Wisley garden.

In a recent survey, the Botanical Gardens were ranked the fifth most popular garden in the UK, based on internet searches. Parks and gardens have of course proved enormously popular during the pandemic, and the Gardens have been a refuge and haven for many of us.

We’ll be at this weekend’s Art in The Gardens (4th & 5th September). Come and say hello at stall G25, where Friends will be on hand with information plus books, bags, mugs and more available to buy.

Join us for what may be our last pop-up plant sale of the year, this Saturday (28th August) from 2pm to 4pm. It will take place at 47 Slayleigh Lane, Fulwood S10 3RG. We’ll have a range of unusual garden plants, most in 2-litre pots. Payment by cash or card. Advice will be on hand about siting and cultivation.

Join us on Tuesday 24th August at 1pm for a public guided tour of the Gardens. Meet at the Main Gatehouse on Clarkehouse Road at 12.50. There’s no need to book. You can just turn up. All tours include a range of sites in the Gardens with a special monthly focus. For August we’ll be exploring the new South Africa garden in Osborn’s Field.