Buxton Gardeners

09/06/2026

A heartfelt thank you to Dena for so generously opening her beautiful garden to Buxton Gardeners on Monday evening.

After a rather uncertain day, the weather kindly improved, allowing us to enjoy a wonderful evening in such welcoming surroundings. Dena’s hospitality was second to none, making everyone feel instantly at home.

The cake was quite simply Bake Off worthy – a masterpiece that looked almost too good to eat (almost!). The plant sale was equally impressive, offering an amazing variety of plants with something to tempt every gardener. It was impossible not to leave inspired.

What made the evening even more special was hearing about Dena’s gardening journey. Her garden is a living catalogue of more than 30 years of happy planting, nurturing, and creating. Every corner tells a story, reflecting decades of passion, dedication, and love of gardening.

Thank you, Dena, for sharing your garden, your knowledge, and your warmth with us all. It was a truly lovely evening and greatly appreciated by everyone who attended…❤️🌹💐💋😘

Our next trip out is on July 13th to a wildflower meadow at Brandside, Derbyshire, full details will follow soon.

28/05/2026

Riversvale Lodge is a beautifully designed cottage garden of moderate size situated about 0.5 miles from Buxton town centre. Owned by a keen plantswoman it contains a wide variety of unusual plants collected over the last 33 years. Come along to enjoy alpine planting, shade loving plants and a variety of shrubs and herbaceous perennials grown for both flower and interesting foliage.

Refreshments (tea, coffee & homemade cakes) will be available by donation.
A variety of home propagated plants will also be available, again for a donation.
All proceeds will be donated to local hospices.

There is limited parking available near the cottage so please park in the area at the top of Gadley Lane and walk down the short distance along Riversvale.

Riversvale Lodge, Riversvale, off Gadley Lane, Buxton SK17 6UZ

7 - 9 pm ⏰

12/05/2026

Buxton Gardeners would like to thank Mr Gordon Malt for his very interesting and knowledgeable talk on Salvias and Grasses. Astonishingly there are well over 800 species and countless ever increasing hybrids and cultivars. They come as annuals, biennials and perennials. Gordon brought with him a selection of very healthy, eye catching plants and nearly every one was sold, so we had some very happy members and visitors grab a bargain.

It was lovely to meet you Gordon and Anne.

Thank you for sharing your valued expertise with us.

10/05/2026

🎡 🍦 🌞 🙏🏻

Buxton Carnival is an annual celebration in the town that you all know and love ❤️ We urgently need to raise funds so the event can continue

09/05/2026

The next meeting of Buxton Gardeners is on Monday May 11th at 7:30pm

Gordon Malt trained at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and has over 40 years experience in horticulture and arboriculture. His garden in Shropshire, which he opens for charity, has a style which he describes as ‘controlled relaxation’ in which he successfully combines growing vegetables with colourful themed flower borders. As one of four finalists in the 2015 Daily Mail Gardening Competition he is very well placed to share his knowledge and garden design knowhow.

In this presentation Gordon
will be discussing the merits of the many different varieties of salvias and ornamental grasses that are now available, and giving advice on conditions needed to grow them well. He will show how they can be successfully combined to provide colour and structural interest in our gardens whether it be in the herbaceous border, a gravel garden or in pots and containers.
Gordon will be bringing plants along for sale on the evening.

Any newbies please just turn up on the night, sign in as a visitor for £4.00 or even better sign up to join our wonderful yearly membership programme for just £20 at the desk where our wonderful welcome committee will assist you.

See you all then 😊

7:30pm Burbage Institute, Nursery Lane, Buxton, SK17 6UL

27/04/2026

The next meeting of Buxton Gardeners is on Monday May 11th at 7:30pm

Gordon Malt trained at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and has over 40 years experience in horticulture and arboriculture. His garden in Shropshire, which he opens for charity, has a style which he describes as ‘controlled relaxation’ in which he successfully combines growing vegetables with colourful themed flower borders. As one of four finalists in the 2015 Daily Mail Gardening Competition he is very well placed to share his knowledge and garden design knowhow.

In this presentation Gordon
will be discussing the merits of the many different varieties of salvias and ornamental grasses that are now available, and giving advice on conditions needed to grow them well. He will show how they can be successfully combined to provide colour and structural interest in our gardens whether it be in the herbaceous border, a gravel garden or in pots and containers.
Gordon will be bringing plants along for sale on the evening.

Any newbies please just turn up on the night, sign in as a visitor for £4.00 or even better sign up to join our wonderful yearly membership programme for just £20 at the desk where our wonderful welcome committee will assist you.

See you all then 😊

16/04/2026

Perfect Pots with Maureen Sawyer

What an incredible evening we had at our last meeting with Maureen Sawyer, talking all about perfect pots!

This year is extra special as Maureen celebrates 25 years with the National Garden Scheme, raising an amazing £60,000 over the years – a truly wonderful achievement 🌿

Maureen’s garden is open from June until the end of August, and she warmly welcomes groups of visitors.

🌐 www.southlands12.com
📧 [email protected]

We wouldn’t be far wrong in saying we are all potty about pots as this talk had the biggest turnout Buxton Gardeners has ever had – thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a special evening! It was also lovely to see so many people supporting Maureen’s plant sale 🌱

Maureen shared some brilliant tips, including:
🌼 Mixing annuals, perennials, bulbs and shrubs for interest
🌿 Creating height and texture with plants like pelargoniums, coleus and lavender
💧 Watering thoroughly – focus on the compost, not the leaves, and ensure good drainage
🌱 Using mulch such as gravel to help retain moisture and keep roots cool

And her top takeaway for everyone:
👉 Pinch your plants out! Removing early buds and flowers encourages a bushier plant and a far more floriferous display later in the season 🌺

Thank you, Maureen, for such an inspiring and informative talk!

05/04/2026

*The next meeting of Buxton Gardeners is on Monday April 13th at 7:30pm

*Perfect Pots - Everything we need to know about using pots and containers in the garden!

*An artist and garden designer, Maureen Sawyer is the owner of Southlands, an award-winning garden in Stretford, South Manchester. Winner of the BBC Gardener of the Year for the North of England in 1999 she began opening her garden to the public for the National Garden Scheme in 2002. Subsequently, a finalist in the 2012 Daily Mail National Garden Competition, the garden has been featured on TV and in several gardening magazines.

*Maureen is a listed RHS speaker and a speaker for the NGS.

*In this talk Maureen will cover all aspects of growing plants in containers. She will include planting and placing of pots, watering and aftercare, and will discuss the many different types of containers available for use in the garden, including hanging baskets.

Maureen propagates many of the perennial plants growing in her garden and will be bringing some along for sale on the evening.

Monday April 13, 7:30pm
Burbage Institute, Nursery Lane, Burbage, Buxton,
SK17 6UL
Newbies, please just turn up on the night, it’s as simple as that.
Free to members, £4.00 for guests.

🌱 Fetch some spending money for the plant sale 🌱

10/03/2026

What a fantastic evening at our Clematis Masterclass with the brilliant Ken Black last night!
We had an incredible turnout — every chair filled, and it was so lovely to see so many enthusiastic gardeners keen to dive deeper into these stunning climbers. 🌸
Ken, who has been growing clematis for over 30 years and is the Membership Secretary of the British Clematis Society, delivered a really informative talk in two parts. The first half was a fascinating slideshow on the classification of clematis — did you know there are over 300 different types of wild/native clematis worldwide, with most found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere? Botanists classify them into genus (groups) and subgenus (subgroups), which helps make sense of their incredible variety!
The second half was a hands-on practical session covering propagation techniques and top tips for growing them successfully. We also learned that clematis belong to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) — who knew?!
A huge thank you to Ken for sharing his wealth of knowledge (he even has his own website packed with articles, charts, and over 20 videos on growing clematis, plus his beautiful ‘Adswood’ garden in Mollington, Cheshire, which has been open to visitors).
Thanks to everyone who came — and a special thank you to Ken for a lovely evening 💚🌿

Our next meeting is April 13th when we welcome Maureen Sawyer who will give a talk on “Perfect Pots”