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Gardens in Barlborough opening for the National Garden Scheme. Gardens in Barlborough, Derbyshire raising money for the National Garden Scheme.

28/10/2026

On Tuesday afternoon, Vernon visited the Forest Lodge low-secure, male only mental health inpatient unit which is managed by Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust.
The purpose of his visit was to see how the NGS Community Grant awarded to develop a kitchen garden from the patch of land at the back of the unit had been used. Not only has the space been transformed but patients are working in the garden growing produce that is then used in the units kitchen for the preparation of meals. Indeed soup, bread and cakes were available during his visit to taste. 😋
He came away with a lovely thank you note - the staff were so appreciative of the grant that was awarded, as it gives not only the current in-patients the chance to learn a new skill but also all those that follow them. 💛🖤

25/10/2026

So unbelievably we are heading to the end of October at the weekend - where has this year gone!
Lots of activity still going on behind the scenes regarding the National Garden Scheme with the centenary of the charity being celebrated next year.
Vernon visited Dore on Wednesday evening to give a talk to a gardening club - Fleur also went along to sort out the IT and projector, in order for Vernon to use his slide pack. If you belong to a club and are looking for speakers for next year - do drop me a message on here and Vernon can make arrangements to come along and talk about the history of the NGS and our experience of opening for the last 15 years. 😊
We also hosted a supper on Saturday for those involved in the Barlborough Gardens openings this year - a chance for me to make something other than cakes (although I did in fact include an Italian apple cake on the menu).
I’m now starting to think about what to bake for our NGS Christmas Coffee morning here on Saturday 12th December from 10.30am. I think the Italian Apple cake will have to be included and possibly an Expresso Martini cake - well it will be nearly Christmas after all. 🎅🏻 Of course there will be lots of other festive bakes plus downstairs will have been given a festive makeover by Fleur. We will also be holding a raffle for a lovely wooden log reindeer (made by Alison’s partner Phil). 🦌 As usual there will be a home made preserve stall with Vernon over the coming weeks making lots of festive flavoured chutney which can be enjoyed with cold cuts over the holiday period.
I’m enjoying a day of rest today having been busy in the kitchen over the last couple of days. Hoping the garden won’t be too battered by the recent storms - let’s hope the next named storm “Chloe” keeps away for a while. 🤞

17/10/2026

So not one but two visits this week to Renishaw Hall and Gardens.
My friend Alison and I enjoyed breakfast at the café first thing in the morning before heading out into the garden. So much colour still to enjoy - but don’t hang around if you want to visit, as the gardens will be closed at the end of the month.
Another visit to the café this morning to deliver some Italian cakes to add to the cake cabinet, in case visitors wanted to enjoy an Italian sweet treat following their pasta lunch.
Of course Vernon wasn’t going to leave without having a full English breakfast and I certainly wasn’t going to object to having another one even though I’d already had one on Thursday! 😋😋

14/10/2026

Over recent weeks I’ve been busy undertaking a decluttering and reorganisation of one of our spare bedrooms following Vernon redecorating it.
A lot of NGS “stuff” had found its way into this room over the years and yesterday was the day when I finally went through all the various bits and pieces to determine what needed to be retained.
A lovely surprise was finding a folder of photos from the three gardens that Vernon and I developed from 2001, when I moved north. Most of the work up until 2003 was initially undertaken by me, as Vernon was not at that stage a “gardener” but took on the role when I became pregnant and could no longer take on the heavy work outside. The rest as they say is history as he caught the gardening bug and hasn’t looked back since.
I have since discovered however that there were gardening genes in his family as one of his grandfathers was a keen gardener - so it may have skipped a generation but he was the lucky one that inherited the interest.
The photos attached are from when we first moved to “The Hollies” in July 2005. They indicate just what we faced on moving in - we were well aware that the garden would require a lot of work! The first summer was spent clearing and tidying in order to create a baseline from which to develop the final design I had in my mind. We worked on the garden in tandem with upgrading the inside of the house, having a two year old to look after and both working full time! Looking back I just don’t know how we managed to do it all but somehow we did. 🥹

09/10/2026

What a difference in the weather over the course of this week! Summer clothes still required at the beginning of the week and warm woollies and boots needed by the end!
Still we enjoyed an unexpected warm day in Sheffield on Tuesday. Indeed I’d chosen to wear a jumper as the temperatures were supposed to be a lot cooler but ended up feeling rather hot and bothered. 😕
Always like to fit in a wander around the Winter Gardens - such an amazing building. A few purchases made at the Millennium Gallery shop - well it would have been rude not to. 😊
A wonderful lunch at Caffè Tucci - this is an absolute hidden gem that Fleur and I discovered a few weeks ago. We wanted to take Vernon to see what he thought - he totally agreed with us. 😋😋😋😋😋😋😋The iced lattes are the best I’ve ever had and as for the sandwiches - just incredible.
Lots of tidying up in the garden at the beginning of the week but so much colour this late in the season is such a bonus. Amazing to have such a variety of blooms to cut at this time of year. 😊

09/10/2026

Some good advice if you want sweet peas growing in your garden next year. 😊

08/10/2026

We popped along this morning to pick up a few tulip collections as well as some packets of tulips and alliums. 🌷

02/10/2026

A quick nip around the garden to see what’s going on, as I’m rather busy undertaking household duties at the moment!
To a certain extent we are now letting the garden do its own thing before the first frost arrives, apart from watering some of the pots and hanging baskets.
It certainly is putting on a magnificent show without any intervention from us - lovely to see so much late colour. An absolute joy as well to be able to cut so much for flower displays in the house.

02/10/2026

Will definitely be getting something from this collection. 💛

Address

Clowne Road
Barlborough
S434EH

Website

https://ngs.org.uk/view-garden/25651

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