Presentation to Her Majesty The Queen

On 12 June The National Gardens Scheme was honoured to present to Her Majesty The Queen a plaque marking the opening of Sandringham Gardens since the scheme’s year of foundation in 1927. To celebrate the NGS’s 85th anniversary in 2012 the founder gardens from the original year have all been given special plaques; out of the original 609, 120 are opening – including Sandringham.

The presentation to The Queen was made by the NGS Chairman, Penny Snell, at Sandringham House on the day that Her Majesty hosted a Diamond Jubilee garden party there. Mrs Snell was accompanied at the presentation by George Plumptre (NGS Chief Executive) and Mrs Plumptre, Anthea Foster and Fiona Black (NGS County Organisers, Norfolk).

Sandringham was opened in the NGS’s first year by The Queen’s grandfather, King George V, in support of the scheme that had been established to raise funds for the memorial fund launched by the Queens Nursing Institute in memory of his mother, Queen Alexandra, who died in 1925 and had been the QNI’s much loved patron. The garden has been open in aid of the NGS almost every year since and demonstrates one of the most complete records of support by any garden.