I have been opening my garden to the public for charity since 1992, under the National Gardens Scheme of England and Wales. This year is my eleventh year of opening and the Scheme’s 75th Anniversary.
It began back in 1927 when Miss Elsie Wagg of the Queen's Nursing Institute had the bright idea of raising funds for that charity by persuading people to open their private gardens to the public for the grand sum of 'a shilling a head.'
From those modest beginnings - with only a few mostly large-scale gardens opening for the benefit of a single charity - it's grown to become nothing less than a national institution, with three and a half thousand gardens, of every possible size and style, raising over a million pounds a year for nearly a dozen charities. It raises money for nursing and caring charities by opening gardens of quality and interest to the public.
The Scheme publishes the definitive reference guide to private gardens, which open to the public, affectionately referred to as the ‘Yellow Book’. Its aim is to raise money by opening gardens to the public. Ordinary gardeners open their gardens to the public on specific days or by appointment and money is raised from entry charges, plus the sale of teas and plants. Last year 2001, the NGS raised the sum of £1,213,452 Pounds for an assortment of charities.
With such a small patch, my garden is open to visitors by appointment only. This usually involves potential visitors finding the garden’s details and listing inside the ‘Yellow Book’, or via the garden’s own web site. Increasingly these days, visitors wishing to see the garden, ring up and expect a visit the same day or even within the hour!
So, unlike those gardens that have specific opening days, like a certain weekend during the summer, I have to be constantly on my toes and ready to receive visitors at the drop of a hat.
