Venue and Time: On the last Tuesday of the month (see programme below). When not visiting local gardens or garden centres, the group meet from 10:00-11:30 am at Eccles Gateway when there is a small charge (£1.50 per person) to cover the cost of room hire and refreshments.

We aim to offer something for everyone including visits to local gardens, such as Fletcher Moss or Bents private garden, timed to make the most of their seasonal displays, as well as our greatly-enjoyed trips to noteworthy gardens further afield. We use public transport whenever possible for our visits, or travel by coach for longer trips. At other times, we meet to share our knowledge of plants and their uses: we often exchange cuttings and other plant material as it is lovely to be reminded of friends by plants as you walk round your own garden.

All we ask of our members is that they share our interest in plants and a love of beautiful gardens. You certainly don’t have to be an active gardener yourself and indeed some of our members do not have a garden of their own.

I no longer have a garden myself but I really appreciate the pleasure that plants give. I thoroughly enjoy the visits to gardens with the u3a group and I often find interesting plants to bring home for family members

Pauline – one of our Plants and Gardens members

We are a very friendly group and you can be sure of a warm welcome. The group is popular and if you are interested in joining, please contact Sheila.

Programme 2024

Our proposed programme is listed below, but do keep a check on this page as there may be alterations especially where visits have yet to be arranged. The “discussion” meetings will be held at the Eccles Gateway/Library.

Date	Venue
27 Feb	Discussion – houseplants and how best to care for them
26 Mar	RHS Bridgewater
30 Apr	Castlefield Viaduct (National Trust)
28 May	Discussion – local parks and gardens worth a visit
25 Jun	Myerscough College Gardens (coach trip)
30 Jul	Discussion – choosing the best plants for the Kitchen Garden
27 Aug	Fletcher Moss Park and the Parsonage Garden at Didsbury
September	Buile Hill Park community garden and allotments (date to be confirmed)
29 Oct	Discussion – theme to be announced
26 Nov	Christmas visit to Jacqueline Iddon’s garden (coach trip)
Dec	Christmas meal (details to be announced)

Programme 2023

Hazelwood Bretherton, Preston (June 2023)

You may also be interested in:

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) website has a wealth of gardening related information or, for information on the largest gardening project in Europe, why not go directly to the RHS Bridgewater page.

Also, the National Garden Scheme website contains over 190 wonderful gardens that can be visited virtually.