Longford Park Gardening Group

- GARDEN OF REFLECTION -

The gardening group was set up a few years ago during the first Covid lockdown period when a lot of people had time on their hands and were desperate to be out in the open!

The group has worked hard over the years to improve the borders in the formal gardens, focussing on the section near the former art deco shelters.

We don’t work during the winter; mainly in spring, summer and autumn, when the weather allows. We meet around 10.30am on Friday mornings and give an hour or two of our time.

In 2024, having received £500 from the Green Spaces fund, we created a Garden of Reflection featuring a few wall mosaics and a couple of benches. The inspiration for the garden was to have a place to honour the victims and families affected by the Arena bombing in Manchester back in 2017.

However, we also wanted to create a pleasant quiet place for people to be able to sit, think and reflect. We have aimed for plants that look and smell good and attract bees.

We pride ourselves on using cuttings from people’s gardens, and donations from Stretford in Bloom and RHS Bridgewater, rather than buying plants. This year (summer 2025), the Longford Scouts are donating some bedding plants.

There are currently 6 members in the group. We consider ourselves to be a very welcoming, friendly group and are always keen to have new volunteers. You don’t need to know anything at all about gardening as there are plenty of tasks to do that don’t require any prior knowledge, e.g. clearing leaves, turning over the soil and weeding. There are usually a couple of more experienced gardeners around to give guidance.

It’s very satisfying to see the fruits of our labours in the summer months and we get many compliments from passersby.

There is no requirement to turn up every week and, apart from gardening gloves, we can provide tools if you don’t have any.

It’s good exercise and being outdoors in the fresh air does you a world of good.

If you are interested, please contact Sue Simpkins (FOLP Committee member) via the form on the Contacts button up on the top of this page (looks like an envelope).