Volunteers needed.

If you want to volunteer, then we meet on the first Saturday of every month.
Sian and Dave Turner are regular volunteers who help us in the Rose Garden.
Here you can see how messy this rose bed has become, full of a variety of weeds and clumps of grass.  They set to work with their trowels and forks.









They chatted as they worked, and were  joined by a few more volunteers.  What a difference in just two hours!
In this second photograph you can see how totally different this rose bed looks. Sian, Dave and Rob, clearly feeling a sense of accomplishment.

We desperately need more volunteers to keep on top of the weeding  of the rose beds. In fact, all the shrub beds and long border too.
If you can spare just an hour or two of your time to help out it can make a huge difference.

We meet once a month on the first Saturday at 10am and also at 10am every Monday, weather permitting.
We really are a friendly bunch and time flies when you have others to chat with as you work.
Please join us next time you have some spare time.  Remember the saying, " Many hands make light work!"

National Tree Week 2018

 As part of National Tree Week 1018, we met on the Oxton Fields on Saturday 1st December to plant a young oak tree.

Heather and David Alcock, together with their daughters Georgia and Rose, contacted our Friends group to donate their small tree.
Georgia Alcock, who will be eight years old in January, had picked up an acorn she found under a large oak tree on Wimbledon Common 4 years ago.  Her parents helped her plant and grow on this tiny acorn, which is now almost as tall as she is.

We gathered on the Oxton Fields to ceremoniously plant her cherished oak tree, which we hope will thrive and grow into a beautiful large oak tree for future generations to enjoy.
Georgia, along with her little sister Rose, got stuck in and helped with the planting.

Finally the young tree is in the ground and we all stood proudly around for a group photograph.
Hopefully Georgia and her sister will always remember this small oak they helped to grow and will return, perhaps with children of their own, to sit beneath the branches of a mighty oak, which they grew from one tiny acorn!

Awards 2018

On the 3rd November we raised our new Green Flag in the Rose Garden. This was after our phase 5 rose planting session.
Not only have we held onto our Green Flag status for yet another year, we also received another unexpected award.
As part of the Royal Horticultural Society's Britain in Bloom Awards, the Rose Garden was awarded a Certificate. John Booth invited the RHS to pay us a visit and they were clearly pleased to find that volunteers had created such a lovely green space, particularly the long, mixed herbacious border.

Interpretation Board

At one of our previous Green Flag inspection days, it was suggested that an interpretation board would be a welcome addition to the Rose Garden.

After lots of discussion and input from both Committee members and help from Wirral Council, the board was finally installed.

It is located along the top path by the entrance to the Quarry area. We hope it will be appreciated by all, but especially by younger visitors or school parties with their teachers.

Secret Gardens Plant Stall 2018

This year the Secret Gardens of Oxton event was held on Sunday May 13th.  This was our second year organising and running the plant stall.  We had beautiful weather on the day and lots of plant donations from local residents, along with plants we had divided from the Rose Garden long border.
We made some changes this year. Cloakroom tickets were used to speed up organisation of the plant creche, which was a great success and meant the stall ran more smoothly.

Many thanks to all those who donated plants and also those people who helped run the stall on the day. This year the stall raised £747.40 so well done everyone!

April 2018.

Now that the rose arches are installed, we set about the task of planting it up. Four climbing roses , two on either side of the double arch were planted. Those chosen to grow up and embellish our arches are called Blush Noisette and Claire Austin.



It was difficult to dig down deep enough as lots of sandstone was present. However, the roses were finally in.

Sadly, one of the Blush Noisette roses was stolen sometime during the weekend of the Secret Gardens event in May!  This will be replaced during our next phase of rose planting.

Litter Picking

We held another litter pick event on March 24th 2018.  These are regular events which aim to keep the Rose Garden, Quarry and Oxton Fields clean and tidy, safe for both the public and wildlife.

Although we have noticed a gradual decrease in the amount of rubbish on the Oxton Fields, the Quarry still seems to be an area where drinkers congregate. The number of empty bottles and cans found there is still much more than we would like. The bags show how much rubbish we collected in just 2 hours!

Wonderful Rose Arches.

On the 29th November 2017, our long awaited double rose arch was finally installed at the top of the Rose Garden.  It was custom made for us by Austrometal, led by Wolfgang Eibl.


This was an expensive addition to the Rose Garden which we hope will be a beautiful focal point and give lots of pleasure, clothed in climbing, scented roses for years to come.