Thistles Market Garden is a venue for adults with disabilities that provides daily purposeful activities in horticulture, to encourage skills and personal development and to promote social inclusion and self-esteem.

Thistles is located on an acre of land on the outskirts of the pretty village of Sutterton, eight miles south of the market town of Boston. The village is served by a regular bus service from both Boston and Spalding.

The market garden was first established in 2002 under the umbrella of Lincolnshire County Council Social Services. Thistles has been operating as an independent co-operative social enterprise since 2015. 

At Thistles we aim to cater to everyone’s individuality. The group that we support are able to work within their own ability and are encouraged to develop their skills through the various activities that we do.

All of our work-related activities are thoroughly risk assessed considering all aspects of health and safety and the abilities of the individual. We aim to protect everyone against hazards without restricting their opportunities. To achieve this aim we adhere to certain standards such as maintaining up-to-date training and following and regularly reviewing our policies.

We strive to provide the group at Thistles with the best possible service through person-centred planning. Thanks to effective communication, the people we support have ownership over how their social care is delivered. As well as holding yearly reviews, we also have regular meetings with the group to encourage them to express their opinion on the day-to-day running of the market garden and to involve them in decision making.

We currently have a waiting list for our day service, but we still welcome enquiries and extend an invitation to visit Thistles for a taster session.