Summary 2016

 

 

This year was the Secret Gardens 35th year and the last opportunity to visit Doreen's house in St Margaret's Street, and see her surprise garden with its colourful assortment of flowers an ancient urn and a truly magnificent thirty year old gooseberry bush and fifty year old 'rosa sicula'. Doreen; a sociable, witty and energetic nearly ninety year old who still digs her own garden and remembers the botanical names of all her plants (one of those treasures I mentioned earlier), after nearly 30 years of participation feels perhaps it's a good time to stop. Doreen like all the secret garden owners, loves her garden and enjoys the opportunity of meeting other garden lovers and sharing her garden with them for one day a year. The secret gardens group and future visitors will surely miss her participation. 

 

The final secret gardens event for this year and the last opportunity to see Doreen's garden took place Sunday June the 26th. The gardens were open as usual from 2.00 till 6.00pm and the weather held out till about 5.00 when the rain set in, but that didn't stop people and the ticket sales raised our total collection for the Museum to £4,026 with an additional sum for Save the Children, Dorothy House and Abbeyfield retirement home.

If you would like to help support local charities, such as the Bradford on Avon Museum (this year's beneficiary) by opening your garden once or twice a year then do contact Maxine Harraway or Rob Keegan at secretgardensboa@btinternet.com. Or visit our gardens and tell us yourself.