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Every year, amazing gardens throughout Shropshire open for the National Gardens Scheme which raises money for cancer and caring charities including Macmillan, Carer's Trust, Hospice UK, Parkinson's , Horatio's, The Queens Nursing Institute and Marie Curie.
The National Garden Scheme has been operating for nearly 100 years and Shropshire's involvement started right at the beginning.
Some gardens open for specific days, some only by appointment and some open as a group.
The Shropshire branch of the scheme raised over £91,000 for our beneficiaries in the 2024 season. £9,000 more than in the previous year.
The "Yellow Book" includes many of Shropshire's best gardens, some magnificent country estates and some hidden jewels owned by ordinary garden-lovers, offering a cost-effective day out, with beautiful gardens and home-made refreshments, all raising money for our good causes.
A leaflet showing all the gardens open for charity in Shropshire is widely-available at libraries, tourist centres, garden centres and many other sources.
Shropshire NGS volunteers are always on the look out for NEW gardens, NEW volunteers and anyone who would like to offer help with publicity, refreshments, delivering booklets and welcoming our lovely visitors.
We are especially keen to find towns or villages who might consider coming together to make a garden trail.
Looking forward to the 2025 season, we are keen to look to the future and recruit:
More gardens.
Gardens especially owned/run by young people or people with diverse needs.
Community gardens.
Gardens in villages or towns that would be suitable for designing a garden trail around.
The National Garden Scheme is very aware of the benefits to health and well-being that making and visiting a garden can have. It is also likely that programmes in your communities have a connection to health, gardening, community engagement and local tourism.
We are keen to engage with all communities and would be especially interested in any groups who could benefit from our Community Garden Scheme which provides funds for local projects across the whole scheme. Two Community Projects in Shropshire were selected to receive funding from us in 2024. More will receive funding in 2025.
We are always on the look out for volunteers to help with a multitude of tasks which range from publicity, distributing stationery, collecting entrance money and even parking.
The team in Shropshire ( as in all counties) is made up entirely of volunteers who give their time for free to raise funds for our beneficiaries.
Please could I ask that you find a way of publicising The National Garden Scheme to your Councillors, parishioners, community groups and societies so that if people would like to join us, they know where to come?
You can see from the attached 2025 Garden Visitors booklet that the Shropshire National Garden Scheme is spread right across the county.
Town and village garden trails and group garden openings are always very popular with our visitors . Whilst they are a chance for the scheme to raise the profile of the charity, raise additional income for our beneficiaries and get people engaged with the health and well-being benefits of being outside and planting they are also a great way to bring communities together however large or small they may be.
For more information about the work that The National Graden Scheme does please visit our website.
https://ngs.org.uk/
For any additional information about how the Shropshire Team works and to make any enquiries about opening a single garden, a village or a town trail or anything else please feel free to contact me.
With very many thanks,
Andy Chatting
County Organiser
National Garden Scheme, Shropshire
Tel: 07546560615
Website: ngs.org.uk
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