Open Gardens.

Wow, chocolatepudding (love your name, btw) that's pretty impressive!

One Sunday soon I will be helping at a beautiful open garden nearby in aid of our Hospice. It is a large garden and there are two gardeners who run the plant stall advising customers about the plants and I just handle the money. Last year we raised over £600 on one day!

A side note- I run a plant and produce stall outside my front gate to raise money for the Hospice. I don't grow anything but I have at least 20 friends who generously donate plants and their surplus produce. Local allotment holders bring me bags of runner beans, courgettes and marrows to sell. One gentleman grows dahlias to show - and he brings me some gorgeous flowers which he considers to be rejects. A few weeks ago a local gardening club held their annual plant sale for charity and they generously bring me the left over plants to sell - this year 300 plants arrived!

Let's all hope for some lovely warm sunny weather this year.

crazyH

^I also found a group of Chinese tourists visiting one early morning. I think that might be normal in their culture.^ - do you mean Chinese tourists go out ‘early morning’

No. I don't think they knew its not normal to invade a strangers garden.

That is how things were organised in our village, CanadianGran though over Saturday and Sunday. Ours raised money for the local children's hospice.

As ours is quite a big village there are refreshment stops in various gardens. We didn't as our garden is small and quite near the High St.

I understand that it was difficult for all the nearby villages to agree dates so they didn't clash.

We one mid May lovely old vicarage next to the church home made cakes really nice. We did miss a local one, although they had 900 visitors so maybe they didn’t miss us.

I'm curious as to how yours are organized. In our town, there is one day a year when the garden club organizes a garden tour. Tickets are sold, maps are given, then there is a tea at one of the garden club members houses. The president of the club has a large older house with room to host the tea.

We were invited to open our garden one year. We are not required to provide refreshment. Most people were very friendly and appreciative. DH said never again, but that it because he has high levels of perfection and he tweaked every leaf and bloom!

I agree that the website is dreadful. I end up picking up the printed county leaflets at garden centres and the like.

If anyone is coming to France this year on holiday, there are many gardens open (not just under the above scheme).

A Gertrude Jekyll on the north coast near Dieppe.

Several English and American gardens on the South coast, such as Lawrence Johnson's (Hidcote fame) at Menton and Edith Wharton's at Hyeres and many in between.

I've toyed with the idea but the weather is so unpredictable it would be difficult to decide when would be a good time and we always have some unkempt weedy places! I love visiting other people's gardens there's always something of interest or that inspires me to try growing something new

I used to enjoy visiting gardens when we lived in England. In France this it's the 10th anniversary of the Jardins Ouvert Scheme which raises money for childrens' charities. Sadly, not too many near me this year, although there are several large gardens attached to chateaux

My mother-in-law likes to go to these.
I find the website awkward and clunky - it doesn't generally help a lot or give me the info I need.

I'm afraid the opening days/times/distance makes everything rather tricky when you can't just decide to go..

I haven't looked yet this year - I hope it's better!

Have tasked my mother-in-law with going through the booklet(s).

The National Garden Scheme is very good and features all types of gardens across the UK. It won't have the neighbourliness of your own locality but there are some lovely gardens to walk and relax in whilst enjoying home made refreshments. My favourite from last year was a long, narrow garden where the owner had sectioned it into, what he called, rooms. Every one was on a different theme. His wife's rotary dryer was moved further down the garden with every new room he created. Poor lady had quite a walk.

We are opening our garden this year.
48 scones in the freezer ready, just another 100 to go😱.
Also cakes, biscuits and buns.
I’m finding it hard to get enthused as the weather is awful.

I also found a group of Chinese tourists visiting one early morning. I think that might be normal in their culture. - do you mean Chinese tourists go out ‘early morning’

I love the various Open Gardens schemes, and try to attend a few each year, particularly group openings.

I hope those opening their gardens have a great time, with delightful weather, and interested, considerate visitors, and raise shedloads of money.

I did this in my last house and was disgusted with the amount of plants that were pinched including a rare blue poppy.Never again.
I also found a group of Chinese tourists visiting one early morning. I think that might be normal in their culture.

I visited a local open garden event for the first time last Sunday and had a wonderful afternoon. I nearly didn't go because the weather wasn't great, but it was so lovely to see other folk's gardens, big and small. Everyone was so friendly, whether fellow viewers or owners, and I also learned a lot about the history of the area. I'll certainly be going to more open garden events if I get the chance.

I appreciate everyone who opens their garden to the public usually for a good cause, thank you and fingers crossed Nfk.

Some of the gardens in our village are so beautiful. I really wish they would open them to the public, once in a while ..

What a fantastic way to get to know each other and welcome newbies NfkDumpling! And pretty up your town too! Win win

I'm opening my garden with others in our little town to raise money to buy compost and flowers for the town centre. It's my first time and the weather has rather battered my poor plot. Fingers crossed for a bit of good rain-free weather this weekend!

That must have been amazing Kittylester, I have seen some really imaginative courtyard gardens using mirrors and old garden rollers with climbers twisting through etc. These nearly always turn out amongst my top favourites.

We have done this a couple of times but, sadly, no one is willing to organise it now. It was harder work than we imagined but really enjoyable.

We live in a converted village Board School and only have a small walled garden with broken up playground not too far down.

We learnt so much about our home from the people who had been pupils here and who came to remember their childhood.