A popular ‘Open Gardens’ scheme will return this year in Cornwall.
The charitable event for Cornwall Hospice Care is in its ninth year, after a year of absence during the pandemic.
One of the places opening again in 2021 is The Lodge, owned by Tony Ryde, a beautiful three-acre riverside garden at Fletcher’s Bridge near Bodmin, which boasts an exciting new feature of a range of abstract sculptures complementing the garden’s natural features.
The Lodge will be open on June 27 between 12pm and 5pm.
Amanda and Chris Deegan will also be welcoming visitors on May 22 between 11am and 4.30pm to their gardens at Penmilder, Lodge Hill, in Liskeard.
Penmilder’s 2.5 acre garden features lawns and mature borders as well as less formal wooded areas. Bluebells and primroses make it particularly pretty in spring and there is also an apple orchard and a pond that supports a variety of wildlife.
Open Gardens organiser Hayley Cayton has high hopes for 2021. She said: “We have renewed optimism and are full of hope that this year’s scheme will be a roaring success, helping to raise much-needed funds to provide care to the terminally ill patients and their families who need us.”
She continued: “We’re also welcoming a number of new participants, including Arundell, a garden nestled between two beautiful beaches near Crantock on the exposed North Cornish coast; the Trevince Estate near Redruth that was designed and planted more than 200 years ago with its 18th century walled garden and wilderness walk; and the Caerhays Estate at Gorran, near St Austell, with a 140-acre traditional woodland garden.”
This year, Cornwall Hospice Care is also launching a new addition to the Open Gardens campaign, a selection of virtual garden visits.
The videos aim to give people who are still unsure about venturing out a chance to view picturesque Cornish gardens from their own homes.
Hayley added: “It’s so exciting to be launching the scheme this year, after its cancellation in 2020. There’s a lot of hunger for people to get out and about exploring what our beautiful county has to offer.
“It’s great to welcome both new and existing gardens to the scheme, without their hard work and commitment this campaign wouldn’t be as successful as it has been over the last nine years.”
Details about this year’s participating gardens can be found in the online Open Gardens 2021 guide, which is available at www.cornwallhospicecare.co.uk/opengardens2021
People can also listen to a newly recorded Cornwall Hospice Care Podcast with Bodmin gardener George Kestell, who supports the Open Gardens campaign, at www.cornwallhospicecare.co.uk/our-new-podcast