Volunteers are working hard to help keep the Gardens beautiful. The specialist propagation team volunteered for 246 hours during June, while those working in the Gardens provided another 264 hours.

We’re delighted to welcome two bears to the Gardens as part of the admirable Bears of Sheffield trail, all in aid of The Children’s Hospital Charity. The design of the 60 big bears and 100 little bears on the trail is based on the bear sculpture in our bear pit, and designed by the same artist, David Mayne.

Thanks to plantsman and garden designer Jimi Blake for his inspirational lecture for us on the plants and plant combinations he uses in his garden in Hunting Brook, County Wicklow. Such a feast of colour! A recording of the lecture is now available in the password-protected Friends Area of the website.

Sheffield Botanical Gardens has been awarded a 2-year package of funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver an exciting programme of horticultural education, informal learning and engagement activities, boosting the Garden’s profile as a regional Centre for Horticultural Excellence.

We’re holding two pop-up plant sales in July: Saturday 3rd from 2pm to 4pm at 47 Slayleigh Lane S10 3RG, and Saturday 17th from 11am till 1pm at 145 High Storrs Rd S11 7LG. Both will have a large choice of garden plants available.

We’re delighted to be hosting an online symposium with four world-class researchers exploring different approaches to urban planting. This all-ticket event is a fund-raiser for the restoration of the prairie at the Botanical Gardens. For information and to book a place, visit the symposium page on Eventbrite.

Thanks to Alan for his lecture this week on the Meditation Garden, which looked at gardening with nature for health, happiness and spiritual well-being. A recording of the lecture is available on the password-protected Friends Area of the site.

Sadly, given the extending of restrictions on public gatherings, we have had to cancel our planned public tour of the Gardens later this month. But we still hope to offer our high summer tour on 27th July, which will take in the perennial flower displays, the bear pit and many of the other attractions of the Gardens.

The latest edition of our monthly newsletter News Shoots is now available in the password-protected Friends Area of the website. Print copies will shortly be on the way to Friends without email addresses. We’ll be taking a break from producing News Shoots over the summer; let us know how you’d like to see it evolve in the Autumn.

Our next lecture on 15th June, will be by Alan Clements, creator of the Cascades meditation garden near Matlock. It will explore our interest in gardening and the deeper satisfaction that we can get from creating our own special natural sacred space.

Our volunteers continue to contribute much to the upkeep of the Gardens. The specialist propagation team volunteered for 222 hours during May, while those working in the Gardens provided another 266 hours.

The next pop-up sale, hosted by Irene May, will take place at 232 Millhouses Lane S11 9JA  on Saturday 19th June between 2 and 4 pm. 
Tea and cake will also be on offer between 2.15 and 4.30, with the chance to look at her garden, all for £5 a head.


Thanks to Nicola Thorpe, Project Development Officer, for sharing with us the final plans for the Education and Engagement Project at the Botanical Gardens. In her lecture this morning, she explained about the programme delivery strands, new volunteering and training opportunities, and some of the partnerships that will help grow and sustain education at Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

Thanks to everyone who came along to the pop-up plants sale in Broomhall on Sunday. It was a treat to meet so many people in person again, and to send so many of our plants off to new homes. We raised lots of funds for the Gardens. As a result, our first batch of plants grown on for the online shop is now sold out.

Our next lecture will be 'Planning an Education Future for the Gardens' by Nicola Thorpe, who’ll be explaining the ideas she’s developed for activities & events in the Gardens, if our National Lottery Heritage Fund application is successful. Come along on Tuesday 25th May at 10.30am and learn about the themes, opportunities and partnerships that are included in the bid.