Our Gardens > Opening your garden to a tour

Opening our garden for the National Garden Scheme

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Lyn and Malcolm:
What has happened since that first opening

Quite a lot really.

We had to purchase a hot water urn and a large fan, more baking tins and a mixer for the kitchen and a tent awning for the gate, to give shelter from hot sun or rain.

On one of our open Sunday afternoons we had a record 242 visitors, it was a mass of people shoulder to shoulder, too many for our small garden.
So we decided that we would have to extend the hours of opening  to 11.00am till 5pm. Which of course leads to problems with our helpers. We can?t expect them to stay the whole day with us. So we need double the amount of helpers, with a change round at 1.30pm. Those that do want to stay on for the whole day have to be fed of course.
As a small thank you to our helpers, that we could not open the garden without, we lay on a dinner here after the last open day.
We also now open on a Wednesday afternoon, to try to relieve the Sunday openings, when we did this we found that visitors with no transport could now catch a bus, which doesn?t run on a Sunday.

We also open our garden to garden clubs and the like, we have had the University of the third age (we thought they were going to be hippies with a name like that) for three years running, two garden clubs who arrived in 52 seat coaches (not at the same time) and they wanted tea/cake as well, so had to be split, so that 26 would sit down for the tea and cake while the other 26 looked round the garden, then they would swap over..
We have also had coaches with Belgian gardeners,  French gardeners and also a garden holiday group. The French group we had a problem with language there were only a couple that could/would speak English, but all was well. We had a very nice letter from them, in French, part of which we translated as

"The garden is contained in a pocket handkerchief. But a silk handkerchief, hemmed, festooned, embroidered, scented. ...........If you seek a small corner of paradise in Dorset, it is useless to go further"

We have the Wessex Archeological group coming this year, hope they don?t want to dig the garden up.

Some nice things visitors have said

"The best small garden you will ever visit."
Roy Prior, Chairmam  Wessex Group of the British Clematis Society

"I have been all over the world, and have seen many gardens, but yours is the best."
A visitor to the garden on one of our open days

"An astonishing garden with two quite different beautifully worked themes.
The front garden displays a rich and varied composition of hardy perennials, with clematis particularly successful, while at the rear of the house, a stunning and eclectic design, which draws its inspiration from Spain, is both a horticultural and visual delight."
Professor David Stevens FSGD, Fl Hort - Garden designer and author.

A couple of strange things visitors have said

That they didn?t like the garden because they couldn?t see the dirt.

That the green lawn didn?t remind them of summer.

On a Sunday afternoon a week before we were due to open the garden, we saw an elderly couple looking over the fence at the garden. They were both smartly dressed, the lady had a wide brimmed hat with flowers on, and both had a flower in their lapels.
Lyn went out to speak to them.

The lady said ?Are we too early?
Lyn replied ?Yes, just a week too early?
We let them in anyway, they had the garden to themselves.

Things you don?t really expect on an open day

A dog digging up the lawn

Three wheelchairs (one motorised) heading down the garden path

A dud Scottish £20 note.

Someone taking the wrong bag of plants from the plant creche.

We must say that the visitors are very good, we have a laugh, we have not had anything of ours go missing.

Over the last eight years we have raised £7000 for the National Garden Scheme.
The garden has featured in magazines and recently on BBC Television Gardeners World.
We have also won awards for garden competitions entered, the most prestigious was The Daily Mail National Garden Competition with 1900 gardens entered in 2005. We didn?t win, but where one of the 6 finalists.

Lyn and Malcolms Garden
357 Ringwood Road
Ferndown
Dorset

Garden Website  http://www.lynandmalc.co.uk/
Our Ideas Genie Garden Plant List http://www.plantguide.lynandmalc.co.uk/ Thank you George

Malcolm

NightHawk:
Thanks for posting that very detailed and extremely informative text Malcolm.

We hope it will inspire some of our other members to give it a try - even if it's only once.  ;D

I am going to award you a Gold Star for that exceptional posting.


Laurie.

ideasguy:
A very interesting account Malcolm, and well worthy of the Gold Star!
I am simply amazed at your ability to excel in so many disciplines.
Nice to have that documented on the forum to inspire others.

Eric Hardy:
Very many congratulations Lynn and Malcolm. That was a most interesting step by step description and the whole thing made me feel quite daunted. How nice to get those appreciative comments, especially the French one.
This amused me
--- Quote from: Lyn and Malcolm on May 27, 2009, 05:32:34 PM --- "How do you keep your lawn so green?" "Is it real grass?"
--- End quote ---
Ours looks very real and the buttercups and daisies make it look quite pretty  :)
I feel a bit of a fraud being part of this group. I am interested but not the plant experts you all are and at our age Anthea and I just can't keep on top of things any more. On the other hand, only last week, I discovered a yellowing bit of paper sandwiched between the leaves of a book with a plan of the garden and with every rose and clematis plotted and named. It must be forty years old so perhaps, even then, I was a potential Ideas Genie user and forum member after all.

Eric H

NightHawk:

--- Quote from: Eric Hardy on May 28, 2009, 07:31:08 AM ---.......... I feel a bit of a fraud being part of this group. I am interested but not the plant experts you all are and at our age Anthea and I just can't keep on top of things any more.
Eric H

--- End quote ---
My goodness Eric, don't ever think like that.

The only qualifications you need to be invited onto this Forum as a member is to have an interest in gardening and be using a version of George's software.

The Forum has a wide range of knowledeable members from the novice to the expert.

I monitor all postings to the Forum (just to make sure no-one is being naughty  :D ) and I can say that your input has been very valuable.  You contribute in several sections of the Forum with great interest, and George and I just wish more members would participate, at whatever level.

I'm quite certain when George reads this, he's going to give you a gentle slap on the wrist for lower-rating yourself - (I've just given you one, so there.  ;)  )

Keep up the good work and remember, your presence here is as important as everyone else is.

Laurie.

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