Open Your Garden

Do you have an interesting garden of quality and character?
Are you willing to raise much needed money for charity? 

Opening your garden is a rewarding way to share your passion and hard work whilst raising much needed funds for charities. Some 4000 gardens in England and Wales take part in the National Gardens Scheme and collectively we support charities including Marie Curie Cancer Care, Crossroads Care, Help the Hospices and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Many people continue to open their garden year on year because they find that the experience is such an enjoyable one.  You may wish to read some of the anecdotes, shared with us by those that already support the NGS, to get a feel for why individuals open their gardens.

The size of your garden is not critical, and many NGS gardens are typical back gardens.  Experience shows us that garden visitors are not attracted purely by the extent of a garden, people are looking for interesting planning and design, a good range of plants and gardens which have been tended with love and care, and quite importantly, a good cup of tea.

You could decide to open once a year, although a number of people do find that opening twice is ideal and adequately enables them to justifiably showcase their hard work.  As the climate in Britain can be unpredictable opening twice can be advisable to ensure a greater chance of fine weather.  Some of our very dedicated gardeners like to be able to exhibit different seasons in their gardens and therefore choose to open to the public in the spring, summer and autumn.

TV presenter,Carol Klein, of BBC 2's 'Open Gardens' series says "Every year, new gardens join The National Gardens Scheme to help raise money for caring and nursing charities. If you think your garden fits the bill, please contact your local volunteer team who will help you.”

Check List

Is your garden interesting?
Is the planting and/or design attractive?
Is your garden well maintained?
Can you offer refreshments if required?
Do you enjoy talking about your garden?
Are you ready for a fun day?
 
If you think you could open your garden and raise funds, why not discuss the possibility with our friendly volunteer team friendly volunteer team.  You can also download our information leaflet or call 01483 211535 for further details.

You don’t need a garden worthy of a gold at Chelsea to be part of NGS!

Other ways to support NGS:

• Visit a garden
• Make a donation
• Sign-up to our enewsletter
• Join our volunteer team
• Buy the Yellow Book