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« 3 of 3 Open Garden Newcomers 2014.
A chance encounter at 6.30 am one Saturday morning between my husband and David Roston over the garden hedge was the catalyst to us getting involved in the open gardens this year. As very amateur gardeners who can't really give sufficient time to create what we really want, we were very reluctant to open our garden as we didn't necessarily think others would be interested. However David and Doris are very persuasive and by 11.00am that very same day we had said yes!
This followed a few weeks of 'what have we done'; but it gave us a focus and purpose to complete many of the jobs we had set ourselves to do this summer.
The church garden committee were very supportive and helpful and made us feel most welcome. The pre-meeting and seeing the other gardens the week before showed us the diversity and range of gardens on show. All were of interest in their own right, some beautifully immaculate and reflected the time spent by those who were more expert than ourselves; others more rustic and natural.
As relative newcomers to the village (2 years), what the open gardens have given us is a sense of community involvement. It provided us with the opportunity to meet new people - near neighbours, some of whom we had never met. It also showed us what we could achieve in our garden after 30 plus years of dedication.
On the day it rained..... and rained...... and rained - the one wet day in over two weeks of beautiful weather. Did this deter the hardy - no. The visitors came in true British spirit, ready to face any element. It was a pleasure to show the garden; people were so friendly and complimentary and genuinely appreciated the opportunity to look round. The hospitality shown as part of the event with a hog roast and drinks was a fitting end to a very good day.
You don't have to have the perfect garden or be a professional gardener to get involved; and the people visiting are genuinely interested in the wide range of garden design and styles on show.
Were we apprehensive? - yes. Would we do it again? - probably yes!; as the support and camaraderie of the other participants made us feel so welcome.
