| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Coordinator: | |
| When: | Monthly on Tuesday mornings 10:00 am-11:30 am 1st Tuesday from March to December, excluding August |
| Venue: | St Peter's Centre |
| Cost: | Garden Group members £16.00 per 4 meetings, Guests £5.00 per meeting. |
Mansfield U3A Garden Group. We meet on the first Tuesday in the month, from March until December (except August) at St Peter's Centre, Mansfield.
We have a wide variety of guest speakers covering a broad selection of horticultural topics. In the summer we have an organised group visit to an outstanding garden. There is a small charge for the monthly meetings, refreshments are included.
If you require more information, please contact me using the Enquiry link above or phone 01623 634805. Trips will be shown on the Events page
Marilyn Dibble
Links
GARDEN GROUP PROGRAMME 2026
| 3rd March 2026 | Steve Lovell | Perennials for Every Season. |
| 7th April 2026 | Martin Fish | Happy, Healthy House Plants |
| 5th May 2026 | James Ellson | The Apple Trees and the Bees |
| 2nd June 2026 | Roger Roberts | A Look at Japanese Gardens |
| 7th July 2026 | Garden Group trip to the Tropical Butterfly House | Guided tour with Rachel Barrowcliffe |
| August 2026 | No meeting. | |
| 1st September 2026 | Geoff Hodge | All-year-round colour in the garden |
| 6th October 2026 | Potty Plotters | Pottering with the Potty Plotters |
| 3rd November 2026 | Tracey Akehurst | Good Enough to Eat |
| 1st December 2026 | Jane from Minster Flowers | Christmas Floral demonstration |
A Secret Suburban Garden
On Saturday, 9th May 2026, nine members of Mansfield u3a Garden Group enjoyed an afternoon visit to the garden of Lynne and Barrie Jackson. For many years, they have opened their gardens to the public in aid of the National Garden Scheme but we arranged a private visit to their newest garden, only eight years old, on Southwell Road West, Mansfield.
To all appearances, the plot is small – a bungalow with a garden in front and a small one behind. But Tardis-like, appearances deceive, and we came to an extended house, a wide drive, a large patio and a long garden that slopes dramatically downwards.
Lynne and Barrie are not just gardeners; they are dedicated, skilful, hard-working enthusiasts who have transformed a basic grassy bank into a fascinating and
extraordinary haven of flowers, shrubs, trees and vegetables in the space of eight years.
I suppose having a blank canvas is a blessing; they dug up old sheds and concrete, flattened the land at the top, laid down flat spaces for new sheds, put in raised vegetable beds and caged fruit bushes, then set to work on the main garden. Trees and shrubs were planted, flower beds created and filled.
Although it is not a very large garden, there is interest in every turn of the grass paths that twine around the plot. There is a harmony in the planting. We spent a long time walking round, wishing that we, too, could garden as skilfully, asking questions, admiring the weed-free beds and generally soaking up the peaceful atmosphere.
We then were treated to a delightful tea with home-made cakes and were able to question Lynne and Barrie about the garden and look at the many photos of its
development. Finally, some of us bought plants, often unusual, before leaving. It says much for the design that Casten Kockum was able to negotiate his electric wheel-chair round the whole garden without problems.
Our thanks to Lynne and Barrie for the chance to visit a garden that shows what can be made of a basic plot of land with skill and dedication. Other members should take the opportunity of visiting the garden when it is open again this Autumn, perhaps for another charity.
