It may be a little bit (OK, very) chilly outside at the moment, but as I passed a leaflet rack at the exit to the supermarket yesterday, a very welcome sight was waiting to greet me – the new season’s Cumbria National Garden Scheme guide!
I’ve mentioned the National Garden Scheme on the blog before (article, No. 3 back in 2015, when I had just started the blog and was probably largely talking to myself!), so I thought it was well worth sharing with you again.
Keen gardeners will no doubt have come across the scheme before, but if you haven’t, the NGS is a voluntary organisation which raises money for charity through the generous efforts of gardeners across the UK, who open their gardens to the public over one or more days.
NGS events collectively raise money for some fantastic causes, and offer unique opportunities to visit gorgeous gardens you wouldn’t normally get to see. And with tea and cake often involved – when garden owners have the facilities – it’s not usually too difficult to tempt non-gardening friends and relatives to tag along too!
I’ve visited a number of gardens which have taken part in the NGS calendar in previous years, and have always found something of interest in every single one. I’ve even visited some places on multiple occasions in different years, to see how the the owners’ plans have progressed.
A couple of favourites that open on a regular basis – and which I can highly recommend – include Yewbarrow House in Grange-over-Sands, and the owners’ private gardens at Larch Cottage Nurseries, Melkinthorpe, near Penrith, which are not normally open to the public. Don’t just take my word for it though; there are a range of gardens wherever you are visiting (or live) within Cumbria.
The Cumbria NGS guide is available free of charge from information points across the Lake District and Cumbria, or you can search by postcode at ngs.org.uk.
Have you visited a garden that has opened under Cumbria National Garden Scheme? Have you any recommendations I haven’t mentioned in my post? If so, it’s always lovely to hear from you in the comments below the articles, and do please share your knowledge with other readers of the blog too!
I’ve been visiting gardens open under the NGS for several years now, and it’s amazing how much time and energy participants put into making their gardens look special for their opening – they’re well worth a visit for gardeners and non-gardeners who just enjoy spending time somewhere beautiful.
What has gone wrong with the printing of this years NGS Cumbria i ask ? Got to page14 then a missing gap to page 27 !!so garden descriptions after 6 to 39 missing. Perhaps i’ve got one of a bad batch which i got at ‘ Larch Cottage Nursery ‘