Latest news with #NationalGardenScheme
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Voices: I've worked on my garden for 21 years – now I'm opening it up to the public
The National Garden Scheme I was a special event in a different context: No poetry haggled out of words, or art Coiled across the canvas and made shapes of. If King Charlies were to visit I could not have tried harder; The twenty-five who'd paid to examine my landscaping and topiary Were each as important as he. My held breath during a period Where not much was blooming, was released At the last minute flowering of six-foot-tall lilies That had unfurled their skirts of brightly coloured silks, The pink and crimson froths of the astilbes, The brilliant purple pourings of campanulas From gaps, nooks, crannies, flowerpots and cracks in pavers, Astrantia, dianthus, alstroemerias, lavender, linaria, Veronica And the first agapanthus. From the visual silence of many greens Sudden screams of colour blazed from the oddly made flowerbeds And strangely shaped pathways that I'd carved from a one-time field Into a map of the inside of my restless head. 'Oh, so beautiful,' they said, unable to imagine All the jobs left undone that were so evident to me And that I must finish before the second one.
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The Independent
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
I've worked on my garden for 21 years – now I'm opening it up to the public
Voices Poetry This week, poet and artist was persuaded by the National Garden Scheme to host special events in her back yard
Powys County Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
Powys hall garden visited by Poet Laureate to open to public
THE public will have the chance to walk in the footsteps of one of Britain's most iconic poets next weekend. Llangedwyn Hall will be opening its gardens as part of the National Garden Scheme on Sunday from 12-4pm. Attendees will have the chance to walk the grounds once trod by Robert Southey, a contemporary of William Wordsworth, and is regarded among Britain's finest ever poets. In 1820 he was Poet Laureate and visited Llangedwyn Hall, one of the many homes of his friend Charles Williams Wynn. His legacy was somewhat tarnished when he wrote to 20 year-old Charlotte Brontë in 1837 and wrote the words: "Literature cannot be the business of a woman's life, and it ought not to be." The public is encouraged to come along and enjoy the Grade II listed gardens while the hall remains closed. This late 17th/early 18th grand formal terraced garden is on three levels in a fine position overlooking the beautiful Tanat Valley. Set in four acres, the south facing garden retains some of its original ornamental features including two round formal ponds and a sunken rose garden, recently replanted with a thousand nepeta for ground cover. A large walled kitchen garden contains a range of espaliered fruit trees, soft fruit cage and cutting garden. Unusual herbaceous planting with mature shrubs and climbers, small streamside water garden, newly planted arboretum and woodland walks. Home-made teas in aid of the village church and plants will be for sale.
South Wales Argus
17-06-2025
- General
- South Wales Argus
Monmouthshire garden owner recognised by National Garden Scheme
Sarah Clay received an engraved garden fork from Debbie Field of the National Garden Scheme (NGS) for her and her husband Anthony's commitment. The couple's garden, designed collaboratively by Eric Francis and Avray Tipping, is in the Italianate Arts and Crafts style, featuring a range of elements from a rose garden to a summerhouse. The garden is opened as part of the NGS, which raises money for charities by charging an admission fee for private garden viewings. Over the past two decades, the Clays have raised thousands for the cause. Ms Field said: "Gardeners never think their garden is good enough to open for the NGS; they are their own worst critics." She encourages more garden owners to consider joining the scheme to aid in the ongoing fundraising. The Clays' garden includes a rose garden designed by Sarah Price, added in 2018, which hosts a variety of flowers from April to October. There are also features like ancient sculpted topiary, a sunken garden, and woodland areas. A walled garden houses fruit trees, and a recently added Platinum Jubilee border features lavender and an arbour, with a mural painted by Andrea Davies in 2023. The NGS depends on the generosity of private garden owners to raise funds for its causes. Ms Field calls for those interested in opening their gardens or knowing someone who might be to get in contact at wenalltisaf@
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Spoilt for choice with six brand new gardens to visit
A good few Christmases ago now, my mum bought me a wild plum tree as a present in a gift box. It has been planted in a large container on the patio ever since and seems to have flourished well. It looks stunning in the garden and is so pretty with its abundance of pale pink flowers, which blossom in early spring. In autumn the deep-red, sweet plums can be eaten straight from the tree! This deciduous tree naturally sheds its leaves every autumn and will remain in its dormant phase all winter. Fresh, new leaves will grow in spring and it's well worth the wait. This year I have been surprised to find some small fruit growing on it too for the very first time. Across Sussex this weekend, there are actually six brand new gardens opening for the National Garden Scheme. Kotamaki in Broad Oak, The Old Manor and Shorts Farm in Nutbourne, 8 Rushy Mead in West Broyle, Swallow Lodge and Talma in Horsham. Spoilt for choice! Look out the full details on the scheme's website at A couple of others you could visit are Alpines in High Street, Maresfield, near Uckfield, opening today (Saturday) from 11am to 5pm with entry £6. It is a largely level, one-acre garden, incorporating the ornamental and the edible. It offers a riot of colour and scent over many months, especially early summer with large and rampant mixed borders containing many scented roses. The other is Farleys Scuplture Garden in Muddles Green, Chiddingly, near Lewes opening especially for the scheme today from 10am to 4.30pm with entry £5. Designed as different themed rooms for sculpture, Farleys garden presents their permanent collection of works chosen by photographer Lee Miller and surrealist artist Roland Penrose alongside works by contemporary guest sculptors. Over the years, giants, goddesses, mythical creatures and Roland's own work has populated the garden in the company of work by their artist friends. You may recognise part of the garden as having been featured as the view through the window in the movie 'Lee' starring Kate Winslet. A really pretty plant in the garden is Chiastophyllum oppositifolium, it is an alpine succulent, closely related to sedum but more suited to shady gardens. It is a clump-forming perennial, and is ideal for using in pots too, as you can see from the one growing at Driftwood. Its unusual dangling yellow flowers contrast beautifully with the fleshy leaves, which change colour from mid-green to red. Also known as Lamb's Tail, Chiastophyllum oppositifolium is easy to grow and is also suitable for growing in rockeries and rock walls. A great statement plant. A couple of months ago, I mentioned a new plant that I'd recently added to the garden is Loropetalum chinense 'Fire Dance', which I've read is rarely seen in gardens. This handsome spreading shrub deserves to be much better known in my book. Its evergreen purple-bronze foliage provides fabulous year-round colour, and contrasts beautifully with the spidery, raspberry-red spring blooms, which are delicately scented and only adds to its charms. This magnificent hardy shrub is ideal for sheltered borders and woodland gardens where it makes an eye-catching specimen in spring and provides a beautiful backdrop for colourful summer perennials. Mine have both been planted in containers and are now looking radiant in the June sunshine. We have certainly had a tremendous number of birds visit the garden this year, with many nesting in the border hedging, two in particular are a pair of pigeons and many blackbirds, both of which are quite tame. The pigeons are often seen washing and drinking in the bird baths and corten steel pond. The love to perch on the rusty metal sculpture and one of the three arches across the central path as you can see. This year, the beach garden is a little wilder than it would be normally. I kept it neat and tidy up to the end of April when my surgery took place, but throughout May, I was really unable to get out there, while recovering from the knee replacement. To be honest, I'm not sure visitors will really notice but I certainly do and I like to keep all the plants in check. You can see the ballota, growing beneath the metal sphere, is about to take over. Also called false dittany, it is a small, bushy shrub that thrives in hot, sunny and dry conditions. It's aided by a covering of felty, silver hairs that reduce water loss. In late summer it produces flowering spears that bear whorls of small pink flowers and is perfect for growing in sunny gravel gardens, like mine, where it'll inhibit weed growth and combine well with plants like bearded irises and phlomis. Read more of Geoff's garden at of book a visit before 3rd August by emailing visitdriftwood@
