The garden visiting season is now in full swing. Each visit raises money for nursing and caring charities, see www.ngs.org.uk.
Thursday 18th May, 10.00am to 3.00pm
Rhubarb Farm, Hardwick Street, Langwith NG20 9DR
Two-acre horticultural social enterprise which provides training and volunteering opportunities to a wide spectrum of the local community. Featuring eight polytunnels producing huge range of vegetables, together with hens, pigs, donkey and Shetland pony. Some wheelchair access, plants for sale, parking, refreshments.
Saturday 20th May, 12.00pm to 4.00pm
Combined opening: Church House and The Old Vicarage
Church House, Hoveringham NG14 7JH
Relax in an oasis of cottage garden style planting with chickens, small pond, vegetable beds, charming auricula theatre and espalier fruit trees. Dog friendly, refreshments.
The Old Vicarage, Halam Hill, Halam NG22 8AX
Two-acre hillside garden planted with an artful eye for design, colour texture and a love of unusual plants and trees. Wheelchair access, dog friendly, plants for sale, parking, refreshments.
Sunday 21st May, 1.00pm to 5.00pm
Ivy Bank Cottage, The Green, South Clifton NG23 7AG
Traditional cottage garden; herbaceous borders, fruit trees including a Nottinghamshire Medlar, vegetable plots and many surprises, including a stumpery, a troughery, dinosaur footprints and even fairies! Live music in the garden, plants for sale, refreshments.
Sunday 21st May, 2.00pm to 5.00pm
Norwell Nurseries, Woodhouse Road, Norwell NG23 6JX
Jewel box of over 3,000 different, beautiful and unusual plants, sumptuously set out in a one acre plantsman’s garden including shady garden with orchids, woodland gems, cottage garden borders, alpine and scree areas. Wheelchair access, plants for sale, parking, refreshments.
Sunday 21st May, 1.00pm to 5.00pm
Group opening: Wellow Village Gardens, Potter Lane, Wellow NG22 0EB
Anne and Fred Allsop at 4 Potter Lane – “30 years ago we walked around a field that housed four horses and bought the house that went with it. The first year was a mass of clearing out scrub and meadow. It was a good year for mushrooms! Each year we added a new bed until we had a garden we liked. It is now set out as four gardens each with their own interest including a small walled area at the side of the house.”
Carrie and Andrew Young at Tithe Barn – The garden has evolved in stages to what it is now. The approach between yew hedges, Japanese cherries and roses sets the tone to the wide sweeps of lawn and generous terrace. There is a large wisteria, bearded Iris in herbaceous beds, roses and rambling roses, shrubs and weeping and specimen trees. This year for the first time the woodland garden on the bank running along Gorge Dyke is open for visitors.
Each garden has a different style and together they show a range of planting and design ideas that can inspire gardeners for their own plots.
On the day there will be exceptional plants for sale by Morton Nursery, homemade cakes and teas in the village hall and there are artists present including:
- John Lovell, award winning watercolour artist, who will be painting
- Caroline Wright of Castaway botanical castings
- Polly Warren’s linocut prints
- Some wheelchair access
Sunday 28th May, 1.00pm to 4.00pm
Group opening: Normanton Gardens, South Street, Normanton on Trent NG23 6RQ
Four gardens are open in this lovely village, and refreshments in the village hall.