Open Gardens Fact File

Every summer in Britain thousands of ordinary people open the gardens of their own homes to the public for a day or two. They do this to help raise money for charity and to get together with other people to share their love of gardening.

The main charitable organization that arranges these visits is the National Gardens Scheme. Early each year they publish a book which lists all the gardens participating in the scheme for that year.

Although many individuals open their gardens under this scheme what also often happens is that the residents of a village or local area decide that a group of them will get together and all open their gardens on the same day. Sometimes as many as 15 or 20 gardens are open in the same village. This is a good idea in rural areas as it encourages lots of people travel out to their village for a day out. 

In addition to this scheme several other charities such as the British Red Cross raise money in the same way. Some villages open their gardens without being a member of any scheme. They arrange and advertise the event themselves.

Although most of these open days occur between June and August  some people who have special collections of early or late flowering plants open their gardens in different seasons. In particular, wonderful collections of spring flowers can be seen in some gardens. Many of the open days are held on a Saturdays or Sundays but some are held on weekdays or evenings. Opening hours vary. Some open mid-morning to late afternoon and others only in the afternoon. 

Some of the gardens are open only on one day during the summer but some people do welcome visitors on several days a year.

To find out where the gardens are it is best to purchase a copy of the National Gardens Scheme 'Yellow Book' as it is called, or visit the NGS website. The book lists the gardens by area and by date they are open.  You can purchase the book in large bookshops or send for it by mail order. Full details can be found on the website -

It is also worth looking in local newspapers. They often carry advertisements for forthcoming open days. The British Red Cross prints a leaflet telling people of their gardens and this is available in gardens centres and local shops.

If you are out in the country you may see large yellow signs telling you that a garden is open nearby on that day and pointing you in the right direction to get there.

All sorts of different people participate in the scheme. Some have very small town gardens and others own very large country houses. They are all interesting in their own way and provide inspiration for visitors to try new ideas in their own gardens.

A number of larger estates that are open to the public throughout the year also join in this scheme on the days that their local village is having an open day.

Some of the villages are difficult to get to by public transport but others are close to larger towns where you can get a local bus to take you to the village. Usually  there are fewer buses and trains on a Sunday so it is best to check this in advance. Town gardens are easier to reach.

If you are traveling by car there is usually car parking provided in the village, often in a large field. This soon fills up and later in the day it can be difficult to park. The parking is usually well signposted and there are often people assigned to direct you where to go once you arrive in the village.

It is a good idea in any case to try and arrive as close as possible to the opening time as many people like to visit these events and the gardens can get quite crowded later in the afternoon.

Once you have arrived and parked you go to the first garden and enquire about paying. Often the organizers have a table close to the car park where they are selling the entrance tickets for the day or the owners of the gardens just sell them.

The cost is usually start at about £2 or £3 to visit an individual garden and about £5 to view a group of gardens. This money is donated to one or more charities; some local and some national. Quite often some money will go to repair the village church or something similar. 

Once you have paid you receive a sticker to wear on your clothes and a map of where the gardens are if it is a larger event. You walk around the village visiting each garden. Sometimes you are asked to show your ticket as you enter each one but others just see your sticker and let you in.

A few of  the gardens are sometimes quite a distance from the main village; some people enjoy the walk and other people leave those gardens to last and drive to these outlying gardens.

The houses are not open to the public, just the gardens. Normally the owner and some friends are on hand to welcome you and to chat. They are usually keen to tell you the names of the plants and to talk about how bad the weather has been for roses this year! 

 As it is a private home I think it is polite to ask permission before taking any photographs but people are generally very happy to allow you to do so.

When you visit the gardens people sometimes have a few spare plants for sale. Some owners sell tea and biscuits and sometimes even home-made cakes to make a bit of extra money for the charity.

If you visit one of the larger open days then there are usually a few people providing refreshments and selling plants. Occasionally other events are arranged such as bands playing or stalls selling produce. As long as the weather is fine, it's a lovely day out!