Open Garden June 2023

Open Garden June 2023

It's 10 years since we last opened our garden. This time we were one of four gardens with Anika and Gavin being the lead garden and doing most of the organising. They also provided refreshments whereas all we had to do was allow people in, having checked they either had a ticket or taken money from them for their entrance fee.

We raised money for two causes: Knoll Residents' Association Defibrillator Fund and SiMBA.

A total of £942.55 was raised on the day.

Thank you to all who supported us

Most of the photos were taken the day before because I always run out of time on open day!

We opened from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Anika's choice - whereas we've only opened for an afternoon on earlier times. The timing seemed to work because we had a steady stream of visitors throughout the day, the first ones arriving within 5 minutes of opening and the last arriving about 5 minutes before closing.

Oli checked to make sure the entrance passed muster and we made sure that the gatekeeper volunteers were supplied with water and treats throughout opening times (it was a very warm day). We put up the standard warning signs about the pond just in case anyone didn't spot it!

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cotinus

Cotinus

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There was plenty of colour in the garden and the Cotinus was in flower so very pretty.

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foxglove

Foxglove

hydrangea

Hydrangea

Since we last opened, we have "re-wilded" the garden a bit and I'm pleased to report that we have a lot more bees these days than we used to. One of our regular visitors - Whitelegs, the fox - also wanted to be in the photos.

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A lot of our visitors were very complementary about the way we had left the "quadrants" in the grass to grow long whilst having the paths cut through.

We expected Oli to disappear for the day but he was remarkably sociable from time to time. When everyone had gone he was keen to have attention, grooming etc. to make sure everything was back to normal.

lady's mantle

Lady's Mantle

geranium

Geranium

loosestrife

Yellow Loosestrife

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The roses are particularly lovely this year. They must have liked the cooler weather earlier this year.

My lovely friend was very keen on speaking with, feeding and generally taking note of the fish in the pond. Apparently he'd not seen fish in a pond before so was fascinated by them. The fish and pond kept him occupied for the whole hour that Netta was looking after the gate with Denise.

The front garden is full of colour (the red and yellow roses are also in the front). The alstromaeria are thugs and are gradually taking over the whole of that bed. They have competition from the lilies that Bob (next door) gave us a few years ago - they are also spreading but weren't in flower for opening.

alstros

Alstromaeria Orange Glory

spiraea

Spiraea

striata

Sisyrinchium

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The Sisyrinchium was the plant I was asked most about today. Everybody seemed to want to know what it was called.

poppies

California Poppies

hostas

As usual, the hostas provide a good meal for slugs and snails!

Erigeron

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buddleia globe

Buddleia golden glove

Allium

nigella

Nigella

The veg beds are doing pretty well and don't appear to be too slug damaged so far. I dare say that could change. This year we are growing broad beans, peas, courgettes, potatoes, carrots and leeks. The fruit is also doing pretty well - we had our first strawberries of the year the day before we opened.

potatoes

Potatoes

peas

Peas

beans

Broad beans

courgette

Courgettes

gooseberries

Gooseberries

fruit

Fruit cages

I popped round to Anika's with the day's takings (and help eat up the cake left from the refreshments) after we'd closed and celebrated with my fellow garden openers, being pleased with the result.

A big thank you to everyone who supported us

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