Updated 23 April 2025
Open Gardens 2025
Will be held on Sunday 29 June. Information about which gardens will be open will be in the June edition of EDGE.
If you would like to open your garden or want further information, please contact
Open Gardens 2024
Open Gardens raises lots of money for charities in a fairly effortless way, as visitors tend to be generous when they see how much effort has gone into creating and sharing such lovely places. Friends and even the most casual of acquaintances (usually gardeners themselves) seem to come miles just to have a look. They are often helpful as well, maybe suggesting good local sources or expressing surprise that a plant you know has been clinging onto life could thrive, despite possibly being in the wrong place. It is a very social event - a bit like a travelling party, but you don’t have to vacuum the house after or provide any entertainment (except a relatively tidy garden) and visitors are happy to move on to the next garden after a short while. A bit like orienteering for the horticulturally inclined, but we do offer a route map.
Last year’s event was hugely successful. Lots of visitors said they were impressed by the variety on display, if left a little breathless by the challenge of fitting them all in. Equally the gardeners had a great day, with some pride in being able to show off what they have achieved.
We are always keen to see new gardens ‘opening up’. They don’t need to be posh, in fact some of the most special ones last year were relatively ordinary spaces where bold structure and imaginative planting have created gardens that will be enjoyed by their owners throughout summer. If you would like to join in or have perhaps opened up in past years, please drop us a line (howard. fry@icloud.com), so we can start preparing this years’ programme. It may be a little early in the year to consider serious gardening, for fear of compacting the soil, but it is a good time for cutting stuff back, dreaming about what could be and making a few lists.