Thanks to Gwendolyn van Paasschen for a fascinating talk on the history and restoration of the garden at Denmans in Sussex. A recording of the talk is now available for Friends in the password-protected Friends Area of the website.

We’re delighted to be starting up our Day Trips for Friends again, after the hiatus caused by the pandemic. We have four trips planned for this year; two are self-drive and two will be by coach. Details are on the back page of the latest News Shoots, or you can find information in our Events Calendar.

We’ve just published the latest version of our regular newsletter. It contains news and views of the Gardens, our plant of the month for February, news of four day-trips being offered to Friends, the chance for volunteers to sign up for some free training, and much else.

We’re planning a summer celebration of Scottish designer and horticulturalist Robert Marnock, the designer of the Botanical Gardens and our first curator. Events will take place throughout June this year and will be a mixture of online displays (focused around Marnock's Floricultural Magazine) and in-person activities in the Gardens and elsewhere - talks, walks, exhibitions, plant sales, art sessions, plays, volunteer training, kids’ activities and more.   

We welcome photos of the Gardens from Friends, to include on our What’s Looking Good page. Views or pictures of individual plants allow us to celebrate aspects of the Gardens over the seasons and to point visitors to particular places to visit.

Join us this Tuesday (24 January) for our first live lecture of 2023. We’ll be joined by two local Master Beekeepers, who will share their experience of keeping bees and the importance of providing bee-friendly plants for forage.

We’re looking forward to the arrival of a local company, who are taking over the curator’s café in the Gardens. They have the keys and are currently refurbishing the café and toilets with the aim of opening in the Spring.

Come and say hello at the Sheffield Heritage Fair over the last weekend in January. We’ll be one of more than 40 heritage groups offering information and merchandise - including some of our Christmas cards at half-price!

Our 2023 lecture programme got off to a great start with a Zoom talk by Dr Harry Watkins, Director of St Andrews Botanic Garden, giving a fascinating, thought provoking and detailed insight into the philosophy and development of their Tangled Bank project.

It’s cold and wet outside, so we’re pleased to be starting up our Zoom lectures again, when Friends can join a series of fascinating talks from the comfort of home. We start next Monday evening (9 January) with a talk on the Tangled Bank at St Andrews Botanic Garden, a project which aims to find ways to conserve plants and teach communities how to respond to climate change and the biodiversity crisis.

The password for the Friends Area of this website was changed in late December 2022. The area contains around 30 recordings of previous lectures, available free-to-view for all current Friends. This festive season may be an ideal opportunity to browse the archive and catch up on lectures that you missed, or revisit ones that you particularly enjoyed.

Thanks to this month’s Gardeners World magazine, which includes our Gardens in a feature on the Top 10 free-to-enter gardens in the UK. It’s a great accolade and a tribute to everyone who helps to keep the Gardens looking lovely throughout the year.

It was great to see so many Friends at today’s Christmas Social, despite the freezing weather. We enjoyed mince pies, a team quiz and a review of 2022. For those who couldn’t join us, a recording of the review is now available to watch in the password-protected Friends Area of the website.

We’re looking forward to welcoming Friends to our annual Christmas Social event this Tuesday (13 December) to round off the year in style. There will be hot drinks, mince pies, a review of the year, a quiz and just a chance to catch up with Friends.

Looking for ideas for a present for a garden-loving friend or family member? We offer gift membership of the Friends, which makes a lovely Christmas present, welcoming new people into our community and helping sustain the Gardens.