Village Open Gardens anyone?

Lovely garden kitty We have been to a few of these open gardens in the past. For anyone visiting Cornwall, there is a real beauty in Polruan in the Fowey Estuary, called The Headland Garden. It's a real stunner. I'm not sure about nowadays but they used to open it one afternoon each week for a small fee. You can sit and look out over the estuary. You could also have a cream tea there Some years ago there used to be a Japanese garden in, of all places, West Bromwich. The owner had a small house the garden of which he turned into a Japanese one with bridges and streams, beautiful Japanese plants and water features. He bought the house next door and expanded his garden. He would open it up one day a year for charity. I'm not sure it's still there but it was wonderful to go down this little street, through an entry and into this wonderland.

Yes, our village does this open gardens every so often, have seen some fabulous ones ( serious garden envy, lol)
Glad that your went well kitty and I do like geums!

Didnt mind dogs at all as long as they were wellbehaved.

I think dogs on leads were allowed but we only had one - a dachshund.

Our open gardens has been going a long time and was started because someone had experience of the hospice. It is run separately from the garden club but inevitably there is a cross over of personnel. Ours was over a weekend. The next village does the same but not all gardens are open on both days which causes a lot of confusion.

People buy a programme for £4 which entitles them to unrestricted access over the weekend. The openers have a stash of programmes to sell on the day but they are available in various shops in the weeks prior. We also had a duckling hunt -theoretically for children!

Opened mine on 11th June from 2 till 6 as part of Teddington in flower. Although ours is a tiny courtyard I think most people enjoyed it, we have raised beds,no lawn and pergola with roses. What surprised me was how some people didn't recognise our rambling rose,"was it philadephus or syringia?" ! However we had about 180 visitors,quite tiring talking most of the afternoon.

Glad your Open Garden event went well kitty Was it organised through a village gardening club? We've just had our village Scarecrow Festival which was fun but I'm wondering whether we could organise an Open Gardens day next year?
As a dog owner I'd like to know whether people allow dogs in their gardens at these events?

What a lovely garden kittylester. Our small town had one event a few years ago and it was fascinating to see all the different styles, from posh riverside ones to amazing use of space in a mobile home garden. Sadly it's never been repeated although I know it is an annual event in many places.

That's how ours was Hilda, though our village is quite large and refreshments, bacon butties, cream teas, arts and crafts and artisan bread were sold in various places. We had about 25 gardens open plus the memorial gardens and the traffic island at the entrance to the village. It was a great experience.

What a beautiful garden. I am going to see if there is anything like that around here. Is it different to the yellow (I think) books about gardens in different counties which are open to the public sometimes?

Our tiny village did this last year and it worked very well. One homeowner has a small cottage on a large plot behind the church where there are some very old barns. That was turned into the tea room and other people put up a few assorted stalls....such as anything pre-loved for gardens and outdoor activities, a plant stall, a book stall...etc. There were about 8 open gardens who had got on board 6 months before and had made sure their gardens were welcoming and tidy(ish). It was a lovely social afternoon and people moved from garden to garden at their own pace....some returning (several times) to the tea tent for tea and cakes!
Tickets to view all the gardens were sold at the church door - one fee for all the gardens. Owners could have asked to see the ticket as you entered each garden but no one did. Its to be repeated with a years gap....and a different selection of plots, although some may do it again. Each garden was different yet somehow all were typical of the area, modest but loved and shown with pride and a lot of local knowledge.

Our garden is very small and we are not gardeners but it hardly mattered.

I'm jealous of sea views, sar.

kitty your garden is beautiful, I am very envious. We live in a lovely second floor flat overlooking the sea but have no outside space. I have never been that interested in gardening but now that I am retired I would love to have the opportunity.

Love the idea, I would visit others but mine is not up to inspection. You can stand in the middle of our lawn do a 360° and you've seen it
The garden looks lovely kitty you house sounds lovely too.

We are currently on holiday in north Norfolk and spent a very happy time yesterday at open gardens in a local town. Such fun to meet people who live here and to see more than just the tourist hot spots. It is a lovely idea.

Your garden looks lovely, kitty.

Village Garden open days have becom every popular in the Derbyshire Peak District, many villages now advertise them. It is a lovely way to enjoy the afternoon, I enjoyed visiting the village gardens morde than the RHS show, and seeing so many diverse and different styles all in a short walk is a real pleasure.

Congratulations Kittylester, what a lovely event to take part in and share your garden with others.

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Maisie was on the kitchen window seat, overlooking the garden, and basking in the attention.

No, never been involved in anything like that but it sounds a wonderful thing to do and so pleased you enjoyed it. Can we have some pics please? Where was Maisie while the visitors were there? Hiding or enjoying the fuss?