Inside the hidden garden in the heart of a city

Like stepping into The Secret Garden, the Dawber Garden is run by a devoted group of volunteers all year round

Hidden in a quiet corner of a city lies a public garden run by a humble group of volunteers.

Taken over from City of Lincoln Council in 2023, the newly-formed trust have worked through all seasons to maintain the Dawber Garden.

The plot, which is fully self-funded, has undergone a transformation from an unkempt piece of land into a cornucopia of trees, flowers, a reflection pond and pieces of art.

With birds chirping and the cathedral chiming in the background, BBC News entered the garden to meet some of the volunteers in mid-December.

The garden is open daily for visitors and admission is free

Lynn Ritson, chair of trustees at the Dawber Garden Community Trust, said three years ago the garden was "in a really poor state" and was in need of "some loving care and attention".

A group of volunteers then formed a charity and took over the management of the public space in spring 2023.

The garden has some more unique features, including two moon arches which form the entrance to a small Chinese garden - a nod to Tangshan in China, one of Lincoln's twin towns.

"It's really important to the local community and visitors from far and wide," said Ms Riston.

"In the summer we had visitors from Australia, America, and it's joyful."

Volunteers reused purple allium flowers that bloomed in May by drying them out and spraying them silver to go on the garden's Christmas tree

Volunteer Rachael Clark created a three-panel mosaic for the garden in honour of her mum, Julia Mary Clark, who would frequently walk around the site with her before she died in 2022.

With the garden being so close to her heart, the 45-year-old even decided to have her wedding ceremony there.

"We didn't want a conventional wedding and wanted to keep it really personal," she said.

"In the lead-up to the actual day, the weather was not very good, but on the day it was beautiful and the sun was shining, it felt very magical.

"There's a lot of benefits for anybody to walk in a natural space, even if the weather is bad.

"It allows you to feel all of your senses, see the birds flying around and see other people if you're lonely."

John Graves, accompanied by his beagle Bodie, said the garden held memories of visits with his late mother

Visiting the garden for the first time in 20 years since his mum died, John Graves said: "I have sentimental memories from coming in here with my mother.

"The volunteers have done a really great job and should be praised for it."

Quietly raking up leaves around the garden, volunteer Gary Bosworth, 67, who lives in Bracebridge Heath, just south of Lincoln, said: "I love this garden. I've walked round it when it wasn't so attractive and it's part of the Lincoln community."

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