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Hello,
It’s the hidden gem tucked away on a quiet residential street in south Manchester - but the future of Bud Garden Centre is uncertain.
A haven for plant lovers, this quirky little business has been a fixture at the bottom of Omer Drive, in Burnage, for the last 12 years. But owner Brenda Smith is now trying to work out the next steps after she was given notice by the landlords.
News of its possible closure has been met with an outpouring of disappointment from customers - known as ‘Buddists’. And the team has applied to Manchester Council to have the garden centre listed as an Asset of Community Value. But Brenda is desperate to keep the ‘peaceful haven’ where it is.
“We're really sad at the prospect of leaving the neighbourhood which has supported us over the past 12 years,” she says.
“We're urging customers to talk to work colleagues, friends and local councillors about our plight, as local knowledge might help to save our business. If you're out walking, keep your eyes peeled for neglected pieces of land.”
Nestled behind a solicitors’ office, just a stone’s throw from Kingsway, it can be easy to miss this tiny garden centre.
“Lots of people are surprised when they find us, and it is really lovely listening to what people say when they walk through the gate,” Brenda says. “Of course 'hidden gem' is what lots of people say, but many can't believe how much stock we fit into such a small space, or how nicely we put it together.”
Brenda and her small team promote organic growing and only use peat-free compost. “Our schtick has been to help people garden with the environment at the forefront of their minds. Peat is a non-renewable resource – it is basically drained peat bog in a plastic bag. Peat bogs are home to lots of different flora and fauna, and they hold vast amounts of carbon and water.
“Equally, organic gardening is the only way if we are to protect other garden organisms: caterpillars, butterflies, birds and hedgehogs, are the obvious examples. If you zap the greenfly on your roses, the ladybirds, and birds, will have nothing to eat. Slug pellets don't just kill slugs, they also harm small mammals and birds.
"Artificial fertilisers damage the soil food web, basically the bacteria and fungi, which are absolutely vital if you want to grow healthy plants. We must be aware that we are not the only species on this planet, nor are we the most important.”
Brenda insists that gardening is open to anyone having started out herself with linseeds scattered between the cracks in flagstones at her tiny backyard in Levenshulme. But she doesn’t advocate the ‘just have a go’ approach believing it can often make people feel like they've failed.
“I got into gardening by doing and reading – knowledge is power. Sow some seeds, and read about how to do it. Gardening is good for your mental health – some tasks are almost meditative, engrossing, which enable you to switch off from the normal day-to-day. Other tasks will make you much fitter and more agile and improve heart and lung capacity.”
For those who are just starting out, she recommends growing some vegetables, like courgettes and beans, and annual plants like Cosmos. “If you don't have a garden, start with a couple of easy houseplants to nurture, and propagate from. Or use a sunny window sill to grow a chilli plant, and herbs in spring.”
Changes on the day of the state funeral
Everyone from David Beckham to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby have been spotted in the queue to view the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall ahead of the state funeral on Monday. It’s a bank holiday that day, so there will be a few changes across Greater Manchester.
All schools and colleges will be closed. Bins will still be collected, albeit at earlier than usual. Libraries and leisure centres will be closed, but Central Library will be accessible between 9am and 6pm so people can add to the books of condolence.
New Smithfield Market and the Arndale Market will be open. The Trafford Centre will close on the day until 4pm with ‘a minimal number of retailers’.
Planned surgeries for 'urgent cases' will go ahead but appointments and non-urgent surgical procedures are being postponed.
There will be a Service of Thanksgiving at Manchester Cathedral on Sunday from 2.30pm and a National Moment of Reflection at 8pm. Big screens in the city centre will show coverage of the State Funeral from 9am on Monday in Cathedral Gardens, Exchange Square and inside Manchester Cathedral.
Manchester headlines
Dinner time: Parents say pupils at Co-op Academy, in Higher Blackley, are missing dinner because the canteen is so busy. They claim children are coming home 'starving' as there's not enough time to queue and eat dinner. The school says it has already extended dinner time to 40 minutes to give children more time to eat, but wait times can often be longer at the start of a school year.
Warning: Manchester will blow its carbon budget for the rest of this century within the next five years if urgent action is not taken, councillors have been warned. The city is due to exceed its carbon budget of 15 MtCO2 set for a 82-year period up to 2100 by around 2027. The town hall is on track to halve its own carbon emissions by 2025. But the council only accounts for around 3 pc of the city's carbon emissions. More here.
New plans: A new Aldi, more than 700 homes and two office buildings could be given the go ahead by Manchester council next week. A secondary school, a park and a community hub are also planned at the former Jackson's Brickworks site in Newton Heath where around two-thirds of the 716 homes, which are set to be built in two phases, would be affordable. Details here.
Weather, etc.
- Saturday: Sunny changing to cloudy in the afternoon. 16C.
- Roads closed: One lane closed due to bridge maintenance work on M67 in both directions from J1 to J4 between 5am and 9pm Mondays to Sundays until September 19.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email: beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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