For many years we’ve enjoyed visiting NGS (National Garden Scheme) gardens in the UK. There’s a certain rhythm to a visit: notice a window in the diary, open the NGS app, search for gardens, reject gardens that we’ve visited before (unless they’re very special and need to be revisited) identify one that’s not too far away, drive to it in eager anticipation, take a long time walking round one or more times, queue up for tea and cake, sit and eat and drink whilst reviewing what we’ve seen, drive home all the while talking about what we did and didn’t like about the garden, look at many photos taken, feel refreshed in the soul …

All the while we had a typical suburban garden in the UK we could never have dreamt of being part of the NGS, except as a keen visitor.

And then we bought our three acres in France. But of course the NGS is in the UK only.

AND then we found that ten years ago a keen Brit had established a similar scheme in France, Jardins Ouverts / Open Gardens. So it became an objective to get the garden to a condition where we could be accepted into the scheme.

Developing the garden from scratch we knew we had a long way to go. Eight years on from taking ownership we have got there as we have been accepted into the scheme and will be opening on 16th June 2024 for the first time. We are a little daunted, not least by the number of cakes we will need to produce! Some kind friends will be joining us on the day, serving refreshments and helping on the gate. It will feel like a real milestone in our garden journey, actually in our life journey.

I’ve created a Facebook event which has been shared to a few relevant groups, and have just finished a simple flyer (below) which we will distribute via the Mairie and a few other outlets. France loves a paper flyer!

Here is where you’ll find our listing on the Jardins Ouverts website

And here’s the simple flyer:

Wish us well, and if you’re in the area do come and see us. You’ll miss the wonderful tulips we enjoyed last month, and probably the equally wonderful bearded irises currently in their prime, but hopefully the roses will still be in their first flush of joy together with other more summery delights.

Tea and cake anyone?