Garden Centre

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

If you happen to spot a yellow sign declaring Garden Open in the next few weeks, and you can spare the time to enter the door or gate, you are in for a treat. The National Gardens Scheme, listing a selected number of gardens participating in the scheme in its ‘Yellow Book’ and that selected number is very select indeed.

Being selected is quite an ordeal – each garden put forward must offer the visitor ‘at least 45 minutes worth of interest’ and in most cases there has to be an adequate facility to provide teas (and usually very good teas too!). There is an entrance fee, which is a charitable donation divided between local charities and ‘national nursing, caring and gardening charities’. The judges are strict and the gardens that make it into the ‘Yellow Book’ are truly superlative. They may be miniature gems or country houses with a four hundred year pedigree, but what they have in common is superb plantsmanship and being private – these are not gardens open to the public on a regular basis. A visit to an NGS garden usually leaves me depressed about the state of my own plot, which is swiftly followed by a desire to improve it, and finishes with me investing money in plants that are being sold by the garden owner. This is actually a very wise decision, as the gardens I visit are usually within ten miles of my own and what thrives in them should thrive for me.

If you’re interested in a chance to view some of Britain’s best secret gardens, visit NGS and see who's made the grade near you.

Labels: national garden scheme, open-gardens

The All Seasons Gardener at 7:37 AM

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