Gardens which are normally kept secret from members of the public will be opening their doors to visitors next month.
The National Garden Scheme gives access to private and secluded gardens across the country to raise money for charities through admissions, tea, coffee and cake.
Two gardens in Essex will be opening as part of the scheme in April.
Green Island Gardens
When: Saturday, April 25
Where: Park Road, Ardleigh, CO7 7SP
Opening times: 11am until 4pm
Cost of admission: Adults – £10 and children – £3.50
It is described as a garden for all seasons, with highlights including bluebells, azaleas, autumn colour, winter Hamamelis and snowdrops – “a plantsman’s paradise”.
Green Island Gardens (Image: NGS)
Carved within the 20-acre mature woodland are huge island beds, Japanese garden, terrace, gravel, seaside and water gardens, all packed with rare and unusual plants.
Ulting Wick
When: Friday, April 24
Where: Crouchmans Farm Road, Ulting, Maldon CM9 6QX
Opening times: 2pm until 5pm
Cost of admission: Adults – £7.50 and children go free
Listed black barns provide backdrop for planting in eight acres.
Snowdrops, narcissus, tulips, flowing innovative spring planting, herbaceous borders, pond, mature weeping willows, kitchen garden, dramatic late summer beds with zingy, tender, exotic plant combinations.
Ulting Wick garden (Image: NGS)
It also includes drought tolerant perennial and mini annual wildflower meadows, as well as woodland and many plants propagated in-house.
They also have unusual plants for sale.
More about the scheme
The National Garden Scheme is a UK charity that raises money by opening private gardens to the public on set days each year.
What it does:
It gives visitors access to over 3,300 private gardens across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, from cottage plots to large estates.
Money is raised mainly through admissions, teas and homemade cakes, and is donated to nursing, health and gardening charities.
Since 1927 it has donated more than £77m, with recent annual donations close to £3.9m.
Who benefits:
Core beneficiaries include Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK, Parkinson’s UK, Carers Trust and The Queen’s Nursing Institute, plus charities linking gardening and health such as Horatio’s Garden and Perennial.
It also runs community garden grant programmes and “gardens and health” projects that support wellbeing through gardening.
Comments are closed.