Join us on Tuesday (24 May) for our monthly lecture and public walk pairing. Our talk is at 10.30 - a Behind the Scenes glimpse from members of the Chatsworth production team - followed by a woodland walk at 1pm.

Laura, our new education and engagement co-ordinator, is looking for volunteers to join two new working groups. One group will work on event planning and organisation in the Gardens, and the other group will develop ideas for interpretation and signage.

We’ll be running a stall at the lovely Pollen Market on Castlegate on Sunday 15 May. There will be lots of garden plants for sale, plus vintage books, heirloom seeds and much else - as well as a chance to chat with the Gardens’ new education co-ordinator Laura from 10am.

Thanks to Prof Ian Rotherham for an expansive lecture on how we can help address the current challenges to the natural world through changing the way we garden. A recording of the lecture is now available in the password-protected Friends Area of this website.

Our lecture tonight (Monday 9th May) is by Professor Ian Rotherham and will explore how to support nature and improve our own well-being in the way we garden.

The Friends are proposing to build a volunteer centre for all the volunteers who work in the Gardens. It will be adjacent to the cold frames, replacing an old shed, just below the Dorothy Fox Centre.

We’re looking for some new tour guides to help us run our programme of public and private Gardens tours. As a newcomer, you’ll join an existing group of experienced guides, and will be offered formal training and support.

We’re pleased to be joining the Hallam Art exhibition this bank holiday weekend in the Dorothy Fox Education Centre in the Gardens, with some of our merchandise available over the three days and plants for sale on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to Elizabeth and Steve from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for a fascinating talk yesterday (26 April) on their work, with a particular focus on their horticultural inspirations and responsibilities.

The executive committee of the Friends met this morning (25 April) in the Education Centre to hear about early progress from Laura, the new Education Co-ordinator for the Gardens - and to debate issues ranging from our planned new volunteer centre and the work of our charitable partner the Sheffield Botanical Gardens Trust, to the use of Zoom for our lecture programme and possible future stalls at the Pollen Market.

Join us on Tuesday (26th April) for our monthly morning lecture, this one on the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, followed by a public tour of the Gardens.

Regular visitors will have noticed the extensive new planting that has been happening at the Thompson Road entrance to the Gardens, much of it funded by the Friends.

We’re delighted to be adding a new species to the Gardens’ National Plant Collection of Sarcococca. 

Thanks to all the Friends who helped out - and visited - our stall at the Pollen Market on Easter Sunday.

Thanks to Camilla for a thoughtful lecture on Monday (11 April) on three forms of tree commemoration. Her talk was our first attempt at live-streaming lectures from the Dorothy Fox Centre on Zoom, and we’re grateful to her for remaining calm and willing even as some technical issue arose!