Information for
Visitors
Visitors Survey
In the summer of 2005 a survey undertaken on behalf of The National Gardens Scheme asked people what were their main reasons for visiting NGS gardens. The overriding response -90% - was to see beautiful gardens and unusual plants and flowers. Most also went to enjoy homemade teas and to see what plants were for sale. A massive 98% of our visitors said that the garden visit met or exceeded their expectations.
Whatever your main reason for visiting, we hope that The Yellow Book Gardens will point you in the right direction. Specific areas of interest have a symbol at the top of each garden entry – teas or light refreshments, plants for sale, National Plant Collection (NCCPG), accommodation available.
OUR WEBSITE
With a Google rating of six, the popularity of our website continues to grow. It features current news about the NGS, award-winning gardens and special events. At the heart of the website is GardenFinder. Here you can locate gardens to visit by date, by location or by specific garden feature. If you are looking for something special, for example a garden designed by the celebrated Gertrude Jekyll, simply type in the keyword search box – you can even specify the county and time of year. GardenFinder also enables you to search for gardens at a specific distance from a given postcode.
Virtually all of our gardens are listed on GardenFinder, many owners include photographs of their gardens, and some have their own web pages, to which we link. Owners also take the opportunity to write a fuller description of their garden. If you want to visit by appointment, why not e-mail or phone the garden owner directly to make arrangements. There is a link to Multi-Map for accurate directions – just click on the words ‘location map’ at the end of the garden description.
The website also lists changes to opening dates and times. Although rare, weather in particular can wreak havoc with the best of plans.
NATIONAL TRUST GARDENS
On 19 July 2008 - over 40 NT gardens will open for the NGS. National Trust gardens preserve a very important part of our gardening heritage and over 100 of them are open in aid of the NGS on the days shown in the Yellow Book. Where the National Trust property has allocated an opening day to the NGS which is one of their normal opening days, National Trust members can still gain entry on production of their National Trust Membership Card. On such days donations to the NGS will be welcome. However where the day allocated is one on which the property would normally be closed, then payment of the NGS admission fee will be required.
ROYAL GARDENS
By gracious permission of Her Majesty The Queen, the House and Grounds at Sandringham, Norfolk, will be open daily from 22 March to 25 July, reopening daily from 3 August to 26 October inclusive. (Coach drivers’ and visitors are advised to confirm these opening and closing dates nearer the time.) Picnics and dogs are not permitted inside the grounds. Sandringham has been part of the ‘Yellow Book Scheme’ since its inception in 1927. Donations are given from the Estate to various charities. For more information see the Norfolk gardens listings or contact The Public Enterprise Manager, Estate Office, Sandringham or telephone 01553 612908 during office hours. www.sandringhamestate.co.uk
Also by gracious permission of Her Majesty The Queen, Frogmore House Garden, Windsor, will be open on Tuesday 3 June in aid of The National Gardens Scheme. For more information see the Berkshire gardens listing or visit www.royal.gov.uk
ACCOMMODATION
After its successful introduction in 2005, we continue to expand our list of NGS gardens offering accommodation. This year there are over 150 wonderful gardens with bed and breakfast, hotel or self-catering accommodation. With many of our gardens offering ‘by appointment’ visits as well as open days, why not plan a few days away enjoying the pleasures of NGS gardens – with breakfast included!
NATIONAL PLANT COLLECTIONS (NCCPG)
Over 80 of these important collections can be seen on NGS open days in 2008. For a listing by plant name indicating which NGS garden holds the collection, click here. You will also find more information on the important work being done by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants. Alternatively, go to GardenFinder and enter the plant collection name in the keyword search box.