Since taking over the garden centre in March, J. Parker’s, the new owners, have been working on maintaining the long-running site’s legacy in the area and expanding its offering.
As part of the expansion, the garden centre has announced that it will be hosting a minimum of 24 free panel-style events per year, involving expert guest speakers from the gardening industry and raising money for local charities.
Another initiative the garden centre will be launching in January 2026 is a free monthly gardening club.
These sessions, which will take place at the Failsworth garden centre, will also be part of wider plans to develop educational support to local schools and young gardeners in Manchester.
J.Parker’s garden centre in Daisy Nook has hosted its first live event. (Image: The Oldham Times)
J.Parker’s recently held its first ever event, welcoming TV gardener Frances Tophill to the centre.
She spoke to local gardening enthusiasts on the topic of ‘there is no right and wrong in gardening’, followed by a Q&A session.
Ticket sales from the event raised £2,000 for homeless charity Petrus, which works to support people affected by homelessness in Oldham, Rochdale, and Burnley.
Afterwards, she held a free workshop with 50 school children from Broadfield Community Primary School in Rochdale, Brian Clarke Academy in Oldham and Holy Name Primary School in Manchester.
Frances Tophill said, “To have the chance to meet some lovely gardeners, and potentially the next generation of gardeners, growers and ecologists, all rolled into a fun day of conversation and learning is a lovely thing to be involved with anyway.
“But for the whole thing to make a contribution towards tackling homelessness and making a difference to those in society who need our help, thoughts and actions the most, is a genuine privilege.”
Edward Doherty, marketing manager at J. Parker’s, said: “We are delighted to have had Frances pop along today and give such an insightful, fun and interesting talk to local gardeners here in Manchester.
“It has been great to share our commitment to community engagement with her and raise some funds to help Sonia, Silvana and the amazing team at Petrus to continue the work they do.”
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