Tarvin Open Gardens 8th & 9th July

Do you fancy doing some Garden Gazing &Fund-raising the floral way!

When the Parish Church, the Chapel and our Woodland all realised that they needed to raise extra funding, a wide variety of ideas were considered. However, one that has worked well in lots of other places had not been done in Tarvin for a good many years – having a number of gardens open for folk to look round. All gardeners know that they can gain much enjoyment and lots of good ideas from looking at other people’s gardens; hence the success of the National Gardens Scheme – the yellow book produced annually to tell you which nearby gardens are open this or next weekend.

The NGS gardens are in a league above most of our gardens in Tarvin but, none-the-less, we have many keen and talented gardeners and a good number of gardens that are well-worth having a look at. Our idea was for several members of the Church, the Chapel and the Woodland to each prepare their gardens and have them open for viewing in exchange for a small fee on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon in early July. However, in stepped a fairy god-father, in the form of Simon Harding of William’s Wood, Stapleford. As well as offering to open his woodland as his own version of a back-garden, Simon has sponsored all of the admission fees, so that everyone can come to gaze at our gardens entirely free of charge! Some of the gardens will be offering refreshments and, since the event is a fund-raiser, there will also be collection pots and buckets available for any loose change you may wish to give.

The weekend settled upon is the 8th and 9th July and gardens will be open between 1pm and 5pm on both days. The sheets showing a list of the gardens and a map of their location will be available at both Churches, from Trustees of the Woodland and at Tarvin Post Office. Now that the admission fee has been removed, it will be possible to spend two fascinating afternoons looking at other people’s ideas of good gardens.

All of the gardens will be hugely different. Some are tiny but with such a wealth of plants crammed in that it is hard to comprehend. Others are based on the notion of an old-fashioned cottage garden, where vegetables, fruit trees and a proliferation of flowers are all crammed in together in a way that is difficult to believe can be done. Some gardens are extensions of the house, enabling grandchildren to play safely, while still allowing the gardener to display their skill in growing mixtures of fabulously beautiful flowers. No two gardens are alike. And every garden gives an insight into the personality of the gardener.

The joy of such a weekend lies in the fact that we can see exactly what is possible in our own gardens. But we are not just able to see what will grow – we are given ideas that we are then able to use in our own gardens. EVERYONE does this! There isn’t a gardener in existence who cannot go to another’s garden and not come away with ideas to try in their own garden. And something that isn’t mentioned much – every gardener is keen to talk about their plants and will be very happy to give you advice about how you can get them to grow in your garden. If you talk nicely to them, they may even let you know where you can get a plant for you to try in your plot when the time is right.

The weekend of the 8th and 9th of July promises to be a very special one. I think you are almost guaranteed to enjoy visiting the gardens and I am tempted to offer you your money back if, for some reason, you don’t enjoy it. But, now that admission is free for everyone, that doesn’t apply, does it?