NATIONAL GARDENS SCHEME (NGS). A BRILLIANT WEBSITE TO FIND BEAUTIFUL GARDENS TO VISIT AS SPRING APPROACHES.

Published: February 2, 2011
NATIONAL GARDENS SCHEME (NGS). A BRILLIANT WEBSITE TO FIND BEAUTIFUL GARDENS TO VISIT AS SPRING APPROACHES.

Spring is in the air!  Well on some days anyway :/

Over the next few months I will be giving you updates from NGS on any new places to visit. All the gardens are open for charity and the small entrance fees are given to many worthy causes. Below is a sample of the gardens in Wirral and Cheshire that are open for our perusal to inspire and delight.

Did you know that they raise over £2 million for nursing, caring and gardening charities. They have raised over £25 million in the last 10 years. The office is small so most of the money goes straight to the charities they support.

http://www.ngs.org.uk/

Gardens cover some 64 acres, having a distinctly maritime feel and housing The National Collection of (Sorbus) Mountain Ash. Among some of the significant specimens that still flourish in the gardens are Pieris Forrestii which was collected for Bulley by George Forrest in Yunnan
Open: Sat 12 Feb (10-5); Sat 18 Feb.
Country garden with shrubs, perennial borders, rambling roses, herb garden, vegetable patch, wildlife pond/water feature and alpines. Landscaped and planted over the last 20yrs with recorded changes. Free range hens. Carpet of snowdrops and spring bulbs. Leaf,stem and berries to show colour in the autumn and winter.
Open: Sun 13 Feb (1-4).
Enjoy the elegance of this vibrant Edwardian garden. Richly planted borders packed with colour and texture, sweeping lawns, majestic trees and shady woodland all await your discovery. See the largest Winter Garden in Britain with over 170,000 bulbs, 50 types of camellia, striking stems, beautiful bark and luscious berries
Open: Suns 20 Feb; 17 Apr; 7 Aug; 16 Oct (11-5.30)
Well-stocked ½-acre plantswoman’s garden with stunning views towards S Cheshire. Immaculate curving lawns, shrubs, colour co-ordinated herbaceous borders, roses, water features, rockery, gravel bed with grasses. Fruit and vegetable plots. In spring large collection of bulbs and flowers, camellias, hellebores and blossom. A treat in store
Open: Sun 3 Apr; Sun 10 July (1-5). Visitors also welcome by appointment.
The gardens at Abbey Gate College are a little masterpiece of garden design. From the symmetrical vista through the clipped yew hedges, which are undergoing restoration, to the Japanese garden, which is beginning to blossom, all provide a tantalising glimpse of what has been and what is yet to come. This garden is still in a fascinating process of restoration
Open: Sun 10 Apr (1-4). Visitors also welcome by appointment.
3 acres; lawns fronting house, wild flower meadow. A surprising approach to the walled garden,with reminders of Roger Lancelyn Green’s retellings, Excalibur, Robin Hood and Jabberwocky. Scented sundial garden for the visually impaired. Memorial sculpture for Richard Lancelyn Green by Sue Sharples. Rose, Nursery rhyme, Witch. Herb, Oriental gardens
Open: Sat 16, Sun 17 Apr (2-5.30). Visitors also welcome by appointment.
Home to many specialist plants, some available in plant sale. Colourful shrubs, bulbs, alpines and several water features compete for attention as you wander through four distinctly different gardens. The home garden has been changed with a wide variety of unusual trees, shrubs and ground cover replacing boring area of bamboo. Increasing emphasis on Himalayan woodlanders
Open: Sun 17 Apr (2-5). Visitors also welcome by appointment throughout the year.
Plantswoman’s garden of approx 1 acre with unusual plants and trees. Roses, pool gardens, small vineyard. Exotic conservatory, herbaceous, specialise in proteas, S African bulbs, clivia and streptocarpus. Spring garden with camellias, magnolias, bulbs.
Open: Sun 24 Apr; Sun 19 June (2-5). Visitors also welcome by appointment groups of 10+
The 1½-acre south facing garden is on a quiet rural lane in the heart of Cheshire and is packed with thousands of rare and familiar hardy herbaceous perennials, shrubs and trees. Unusual plants available at adjacent nursery
Open: Mons 25 Apr; 29 Aug (10-5).
Features include orangery by Wyatt, fernery by Paxton, restored Japanese garden, Italian and rose gardens. Greek monument and African hut. Hybrid azaleas and rhododendrons; swamp cypresses, tree ferns, tall redwoods, bamboos and pines. Fully restored productive walled gardens
Open: Weds 27 Apr; 8 June; 12 Oct (10-6).
This undulating established 1-acre garden has a stunning rear setting and is surrounded by a natural woodland backdrop. Many spring flowering shrubs (rhododendron, azalea, magnolia, cornus) with surprises at every corner. Restored old farm buildings with roofless area containing climbers and fronted by cobblestones. Large slate water feature
Open: Sun 1, Mon 2 May (2-5). Visitors also welcome by appointment.
Large garden currently being restored. Interesting collection of trees, recently planted borders leading down to lake. Fantastic display of azaleas and rhododendrons
Open: Sun 1 May (2-5).

http://www.ngs.org.uk/gardens/gardenfinder/search.aspx?search=quick

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About the Author

Phoenix is the editor of this site and was diagnosed with bipolar twenty years ago. In between 8 periods of illness and hospitalisation she trained as a garden designer and was a awarded an RHS Diploma, gained a first class degree in Cultural Studies and a Certificate in Education that enables her to lecture in Recovery in Mental Health to psychiatric nurse students and mental health professionals at universities. Phoenix leads a diverse life which she attributes to Wellness Recovery Action Planning and all aspects of Recovery. In the last 2 years she performed stand up comedy. Laughter truly is the best medicine! Now she is concentrating on being involved in improving conditions for inpatients and service receivers trustwide. And training in WRAP, Recovery Star and the new Advanced Statement and some gardening for health. Also with some great new art projects.