Have you heard of the National Garden Scheme? - Care Community

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Have you heard of the National Garden Scheme?

8 Replies

Have you heard of the National Garden Scheme?

It is a charitable funder of all things nursing and one of its supported charities is the Carers’ Trust, which helps unpaid carers. The National Garden Scheme is the Carer’s Trust’s longest standing charity provider, and to date it has donated over three million pounds.

The Scheme works by encouraging people to sign up their gardens to allow admission to the public on specified dates of the year, in exchange for a charitable admission fee, some of which it then donates to the Carers’ Trust. It now has about 3,700 gardens throughout the UK on its books.

Every year there is a Festival Weekend event, which this year is on the weekend of Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd June and is the Garden Scheme’s busiest weekend. It’s called the Garden Adventure Challenge!

The idea is for all supporters of the scheme to visit as many gardens as they can, alone or as a group. There’s a whole network of gardens to visit throughout the UK and you can find out more about it all, and search for gardens that are close enough for you to visit, by postcode, at the National Garden Scheme’s website ngs.org.uk/

It’s a wonderful thing to support. Not only is a lovely garden a great place to de-stress, but you will be helping all sorts of organizations that may help you in return, including the Carers’ Trust. There are generally one or two gardens fairly local to you, so that you may not have to travel too far from home to visit. That’s so important to carers who often can’t get very far from home for too long. And you don’t have to visit more than one garden. Every little helps.

Sadly I can’t take part this year as I’ll be out of the UK that weekend, but if anyone else manages to do this, it would be lovely to hear about it afterwards, on our Care forum.

8 Replies
freezingspark profile image
freezingspark

This sounds lovely. My parents love having a nosey around their local gardens. Its always such a surprise to see behind people's gates. Fingers crossed for sunshine!

Hope you're off somewhere nice for the weekend :)

in reply to freezingspark

Hi freezingspark,

Yes, absolutely lovely if you could actually do it with your parents!

I'm off on a mini cruise to France that weekend, and am actually going to Giverny to visit Monet's house and garden!

So I share your hope for lots of sunshine!

freezingspark profile image
freezingspark in reply to

How wonderful! I went to the new Monet exhibition at the National Gallery last weekend. It was mainly about his use of architecture but there were some of his paintings of the beautiful bridge at Giverny. Take lots of photos while you're there!

in reply to freezingspark

Interesting, freezingspark! I may have to follow you to the exhibition!

I'll be sure to take lots of photos in Giverny!

sassy59 profile image
sassy59

Sounds like a great idea. If we’re not busy we may well see what’s happening locally. Thank you for sharing. Xxxx

in reply to sassy59

Great, sassy59. Hope you manage to make it to a garden. Enjoy, if you do!

Best wishes.

Bananas5 profile image
Bananas5

Gardens and gardening...love of my life!!

Can I do a bit of advertising? In Scotland it is slightly different although we are a sister organisation. We have our own 'yellow book' but not as many gardens open.

We moved abroad 2 years ago but while living up North I did participate in the scheme. In the village I had 7 gardens as potentially open over 3 openings. Visitors loved it as they always felt they could relate to ideas for their own gardens.

Links to Scotland Gardens and my own garden in Perthshire. Note the For Sale board!!

We also supported slightly different charities but equally as worth while.

I loved every minute of opening my garden and the people who came through the gate. Many people booked their holidays around an area where there were several gardens open

ngs.org.uk/scottish-gardens/

google.com/maps/@56.373629,...

Happy days and happy memories

x

in reply to Bananas5

Hi, Bananas5,

Yes, delighted to hear how it's done north of the border.

And how fabulous to have your own garden enrolled, and to enjoy meeting everyone who came to visit. So pretty too.

Thanks so much for sharing!

It'll be very useful information for our Scottish members!

Best wishes.

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