Not the way I planned it!

My husband and I, well more me really, as he is never that keen, have opened our garden previously for our local village garden safari raising money for the village hall. We’ve done this about four times. I’ve always thought what would it be like to open for the Yellow Book (National Garden Scheme) and had always assumed one day I would contact them when I believed our garden could warrant people spending 45 minutes perusing and critiquing the borders! I could always see them in my mind saying at the top of their voice – look there’s a weed, or very nice dearie, but it will better when it has matured!

Every garden is unique and different. It should take on the sole of the gardener, a showcase to their personal style. Our back garden is a shady one. Everyone thinks shade can be boring when they struggle to get things to grow. I refused to give into this theory years ago, and have put my husband and children through hell by dragging them around half the country, down little tracks to the back end of beyond, narrowly missing dogs running free in the process, all so I can visit that elusive nursery with a different variety of Roscoea or some other little treasure on that ever increasing list in my mind! I’m not really sure what I’d call myself – plant connoisseur, plant collector, or completely insane! Well maybe just someone trying to stand up to the majority as a voice and act as a showcase for shade plants

My husband is convinced I choose the plants for our garden by picking up the latest copy of the Plant Finder and flicking through to find plants listed with one nursery as a stockist. I can assure you, and him, that this is not how I choose them. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps the beholder, in this case – me, just has an eye for the unusual.
Anyway, I digress; I always wondered if visitors to our garden would actually ‘get’ the idea behind the planting or even recognise the unusual things they might see. Then, out of the blue, two years ago, a letter came through the door from the NGS, saying they had heard we had a beautiful garden and would we be interested in opening. That wasn’t supposed to happen! Of course, I jumped at the chance, I’d be stupid not to.

Mass panic, then ensued, even though we had opened the garden only a month before. Are we ready? I have to say it was the smoothest ride ever. Nothing to change. No problems. What had I ever been worried about? We were to open as a group, along with two other gardens and the local allotments – diverse enough from each other that we were each unique. The date as ever is never ideal for us – June, but we have to go along with the majority. Many shade plants peaks in spring and autumn, although I do strive to have interest throughout the whole year.

So our first opening was last year, which was a success, and lo and behold, it’s that time of year again. D day is Sunday 26^th June. This year the weather has been somewhat interesting to say the least, and still is. Every day is a guessing game as to what will still be flowering, or has gone over, or is just breaking its buds. Even after opening the garden previously, there is still always that element of doubt in the back of my mind. Will anyone actually turn up? Well only time will tell….