Botanic Garden and Attenborough Arboretum

Friends of the Garden

Membership privileges

  • Invitations to morning and evening talks
  • Visits to famous and less well-known gardens and nurseries including short-break tours to more distant gardens
  • Special access to the Garden where members may visit the garden at times when it is closed to the public
  • Newsletters which contain notices of meetings, news items and articles on plants or features of current interest in the Garden
  • A forum for the free exchange of plants among members
  • Opportunities to train as a guide to take groups around the Garden and Arboretum
  • To be part of a team to organise the Botanic Garden Plant Sale and Family Day and other events

Talks

Date Event Speaker and talk title
Monday 17 November 2025  Morning talk Karen Gimson: Planting with small trees and wild flowers
Monday 12 January 2026  Morning talk Rowan Roenisch: The Houses in the Botanic Garden
Thursday 29 January 2026  Evening talk Professor Richard Jones: The Sewage Question
February 2026  Evening talk Professor Jeff Ollerton: Adventures in Pollination
Thursday 26 March 2026 AGM + evening talk Nick Bailey: The future of the University of Leicester  Botanic Garden
Monday 13 April 2026 Morning talk Meadows Makers: Wildflowers and Rewilding
Thursday 23 April 2026  Evening talk Russell Parry: Is gardening good for Leicester's flora? 
Wednesday 18 May 2026  Morning talk The Potty Plotters

All talks take place in Beaumont House, Stoughton Drive South, Oadby LE2 2NA. Parking on Glebe Road.

Morning talks start at 11.00am with refreshments from 10.30am. Evening talks start at 7.30 pm with light refreshments after the talk.

Non-members are very welcome for a £2 donation or free if membership is purchased on the day.

Who we are

Founded in 1980, the principal aims of the association are to promote and support the development of the Garden's plant collections and amenities.

Fund-raising activities centre chiefly on the annual Plant Sale and Family Day but other events are organised from time to time. Over the years the Friends have funded a range of projects in the Botanic Garden. 

We are members of the nationwide Friends of Botanic Gardens Forum.

How to join

Anyone over the age of 18 may become a member. Those under 18 may be included in family membership.

To join the Friends visit our membership website.

Alternatively, please email FULBGmembership@gmail.com for an application form. Membership application forms are also available at the Botanic Garden entrance gate.

Subscriptions are payable on 1 January each year. New members may join at any time and, if joining after our Plant Sale and Family Day in early July, will receive the concession of the remainder of the current year with the next year.

The current subscription rates are as follows:

  Single  Family
Standard rate £15 £21
Senior citizen £14 £19
Life membership £120 £170

Direct Debit is possible via the website link above.

Data protection statement

If you are a member of the Friends of the University of Leicester Botanic Garden, the information you have supplied is used to administer your membership and tell you about the work of the Friends including mailing of the newsletter. If you no longer wish to receive information from the Friends, or would like a copy of the information held, please email us or write to Data Controller, Friends of the Botanic Garden, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH.

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