As Trustees’ Week is underway (November 7-11), we want to celebrate the talented group of individuals that make up our board of trustees. Sue Beardsmore, chair of trustees, explains what the role is – and why it is so rewarding.

What attracted you to being chair of trustees at Birmingham Botanical Gardens? 
Birmingham Botanical Gardens is a great treasure, in need of help, and I’ve been a member for more than 30 years. The Gardens are nearly 200 years old, but if they’re to survive into a third century they need huge support and a lot of work. We’ve just been awarded a National Lottery Heritage Fund development grant to make plans for a project to save the Gardens – but that’s just the start.  Trustees support an institution and its staff, and try to help find a way through challenges. I felt I had some of the experience that would help – so I applied for the role, and was selected.

Why is the role of trustee so important? 
Trustees bring their life experience, their professional experience and their commitment to a board.  They are all volunteers so the value of that ‘free’ input is incalculable; if charities had to pay for what volunteers, of all sorts, bring, it would be tough for them to survive. Trustees, as a board, challenge and support the staff, and have oversight of what the charity is doing, making sure it fulfils its aims and is viable.

How does the Gardens benefit from the involvement of you and the board of trustees? 
We have fantastic trustees, all with a wide range of experience in commerce and business, marketing, horticulture, community activities and education. Along with the chief executive (Sara Blair-Manning) and her team, that experience is used to set the vision and aims for the Gardens. Specific skills can really help at specific times. For example, one of our trustees has significant experience in building and surveying, and his advice will be hugely helpful in developing our project to restore the listed buildings at the Gardens

What is the day-to-day role of the trustees?

Trustees sit on a variety of committees – for example overseeing finance, horticulture, education, operations and marketing – and they review plans, ask questions, challenge and support. Those committees meet at least four times a year and feed into the full board, which also meets a minimum of four times a year.

There is an AGM once a year for all members to review the annual report and to ask questions. But there’s plenty more to do: in between meetings trustees may help with professional advice, if it is appropriate; they may help by sitting on interview panels to make appointments, if their experience is suitable; they also advocate for the Gardens by meeting and talking to people, and help to make sure people know what’s going on.

It’s always important to remember that if you are a trustee, you’re not there to run the organisation. The role is often described as that of a ‘critical friend’. Both parts of that phrase matter. You’re not there just to criticise, or just to cheerlead. A sensible head and a good heart are important.

What qualities does a trustee need to make a real difference to an organisation? 
An ability to listen, to question, to care and to learn, and to work collaboratively. Although the Nolan Principles are regarded as the basics for roles in government and public bodies, they’re important for people involved in any kind of trustee or governance role.

What really helps a trustee board is having a wide range of people, so different views and experience are being fed into an organisation, as well as the right skills. That may mean people sometimes disagree, but it’s important to be able to discuss and assess different views courteously, remembering the organisation is more important than any one person.

You get a lot out of being a trustee, especially somewhere like Birmingham Botanical Gardens. You only have to take a walk through the glasshouses and the grounds to remember why you’re involved. It’s a magical place, born out of a vision, and it’s more important now than ever to keep that alive. As trustees, we’ll do our best to help.

The extra layers are out of the wardrobe and the thicker socks are already keeping the feet warm – that nip in the air means autumn is here.

But what a beautiful season it is. We can already see the lush reds and golds forming in the trees, ready to start carpeting the lawns later in the month.

Before we get on to the task of sweeping up all the fallen leaves, the gardening team will be busy lifting the cacti and other succulents from the Loudon Terrace. Don’t worry if you’re visiting the Birmingham Cactus and Succulent Annual Show on October 2, though, as you’ll still be able to admire them.

The cacti have really enjoyed the long, hot summer, as well as the recent rainfall, but they’re ready to be brought in to the nursery for the winter months, before we get the first frosts.

We’ll also be lifting some of the tender plants in the grass garden, including ensete (false banana), cannas, colocasia (taro) and brugmansia (angel’s trumpet), to make sure they survive the colder months.

There’s plenty of planting to do, too. We’ve hundreds of spring bulbs to get in around the gardens, including daffodils, dwarf Iris and alliums, so expect a riot of colour in early 2023.

Talking of colour, we’ll also be planting plenty of polyanthus on the Terrace, on the car park and around the bandstand, which will provide bright pops of colour in the coming autumn and winter days.

If your garden has some space where a new shrub would fit nicely, now is the time to plant it. It’s also a good time to move any established shrubs to a new spot as the ground is still warm and there’s usually plenty of rain to water them in. You may well see us planting a variety of perennials and shrubs around the gardens to plug some gaps.

Another good task for this month is to divide any herbaceous perennials – it gives you additional plants for no cost and helps to fill your borders with reinvigorated specimens – and if you still have any, collect the some of the seeds from your summer flowers to give you a head start for next summer’s borders.

When do you sow your sweetpeas? While many people stick to March, they can also be sown into pots in October – just keep them somewhere frost free for the winter and they should be ready to plant out in spring next year.

With half-term holidays on the horizon, why not enjoy the beauty of the Gardens with your young ones? We have children’s trails and activity packs that can help you while away a few hours, plus a wonderful playground and the super Pavilion Tea Room, where you can sit down with a well-earned hot drink and a piece of delicious cake.

You may not realise it, but the Gardens is an independent educational charity that receives no regular public funding. Instead, our income comes from generous public donations, grants as well as conferences, weddings and other events – plus entry fees and memberships. By supporting us, you are helping to preserve this fantastic Grade II listed space in Birmingham.

We also love to see your photos and videos. If you pay us a visit, please keep posting them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and let us know what you have enjoyed in particular on your visit here. We look forward to seeing you all this month.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens has been awarded £590,814 from the The National Lottery Heritage Fund – with the potential to secure a further £4.4 million – to restore its four historic, listed glasshouses.

The Gardens, a Grade II* listed charity based in Edgbaston, has received the development grant so it can develop plans for its £13 million ‘Growing our Green Heritage’ project, which aims to restore its historic glasshouse estate, as well as additional visitor and community resources, to create a place of horticultural excellence and outstanding green space.

As the project progresses, the Gardens will have the chance to secure an additional funding amount of £4,409,186 to deliver the project. Funding for the project has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players.

Sue Beardsmore, Chair of Trustees at Birmingham Botanical Gardens said: “Our uniquely biodiverse natural environment is one of the UK’s most significant historic Botanic Gardens and part of Birmingham’s richly diverse cultural history and way of life. This safe, peaceful space is part of the green heart of Birmingham and a hugely treasured place to the city and its communities.

“The historic glasshouse estate is at risk. It needs urgent extensive repairs to continue to provide the right environment for our important living plant collection.

“Support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will mean that we can preserve this historic estate and iconic glasshouses for future generations. A place of sanctuary, learning and inspiration, bringing people and plants together for another 200 years.

“We know that a meaningful relationship with nature has significant benefits for health and well-being and we are immensely grateful to the Fund for this unique opportunity to restore an important part of Birmingham’s heritage, champion biodiversity and the environment, and reconnect people with nature.”

The total project is expected to take about five years to complete.

Elizabeth Frostick, Development Director at the Gardens, said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded the National Lottery Heritage Fund development funding. We are one of only two remaining independent Botanic Gardens in the country and receive no public subsidy. As a charity, we rely on income from visitors, members, grants, and the generous donations from trusts and individuals who share our vision to preserve these unique Gardens for everyone now and for future generations.”

The glasshouses have always been a major attraction: the Tropical House was built in 1852 to house the famous tropical water lily, Victoria amazonica; the Subtropical House in 1871 and the present range of Terrace Glasshouses replaced the original conservatory and lean-to houses in 1884. The Tropical House was rebuilt during 1990/91 and the other houses improved and replanted during the major redevelopments carried out in 1986/87.

Set within a Conservation Area, it is a 15-acre oasis just one mile from the city centre and has more than 7,000 formally documented plants, with the largest and most diverse botanic collection in central England.

This important funding into the West Midlands comes after a successful year for the region, which included Coventry City of Culture, itself a recipient of £3 million funding from the Heritage Fund, and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, of which the Birmingham 2022 Festival also received £3 million in Heritage Fund support.

Our horticulturalists have reflected on the incredible time they had at the PoliNations festival in the city centre.

Wayne Williams, head gardener, and Chris Howell, worked with community organisations to plant a variety of plants for the garden festival in Victoria Square, which took place between September 2 and 18, and then gave free daily guided tours to visitors.

Wayne said: “We were really proud to be part of such a fantastic festival. The Botanical Gardens are a real celebration of different cultures and horticulture and PoliNations echoed that, on a dramatic scale in the heart of the city.

“It was great to help plant the marigolds with the city’s community groups and for some of them, it was their first foray into gardening, so we hope it helps to spark their enthusiasm for growing more plants from now on.”

Commissioned by UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, PoliNations was part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival and took place as the city celebrated hosting the hugely successful Commonwealth Games. It was presented with the support of Birmingham City Council

Featuring huge architectural trees and thousands of plants, it comprised five tree installations up to 40ft high and sculptures inspired by iconic plants – such as daisies, pansies, apple trees, and roses – that are staples of British gardens but are not native to Britain.

“It was a fantastic experience to be involved with and the hundreds of visitors we showed around had a genuine interest in the plants and their histories,” added Wayne.