Some of our Group of 42 garden enthusiasts have big gardens, some small, some have balcony gardens and some none at all. We are inspired by the gorgeous gardens we visit, all with their own different characters and specialities that their owners have lovingly created. At the moment the Gardens Group has no vacancies, but there is a Waiting List for those who are interested in joining when spaces become available. Contact Jackie and Clive.
All the gardens are featured in the yellow NGS booklet for Hampshire which comes out each year in February. The money raised is donated to the National Garden Scheme charity, which has over 3,500 garden owners across England and Wales. In 2024 the NGS donated over £3.5m to national nursing care and health charities. Arranging and organising the visits takes a lot of planning, for which members volunteer at the annual planning meeting in March.

With garden visits planned for once a month, our first of the year in late February was to the Down House in Itchen Abbas, renowned for its display of snowdrops, aconites and crocuses. With 17 members present, the visit began with a talk and then tour by the owner, Mark Porter. In spite of a dry start, the rain came down heavily! Many enjoyed the visit and the tea and cake was just what was needed at the end! Following our March Planning Meeting, in April we visited The Cottage in Chandlers Ford, a ¾ acre garden with a vivid Spring collection of established flowering azaleas in its dappled woodland.
It’s not possible here to describe all the gardens we visited, but a couple must be mentioned. A scenic route to East Meon took us to The Court House, with its garden surrounding a medieval manor house steeped in history. It is the best preserved of the medieval residences of the Bishops of Winchester. Opposite is the substantial Norman All Saints Church, completed around 1150. Due to the Summer drought this year, hosepipes were banned. The two acre garden had suffered from the lack of rain but the herbaceous borders were still able to look colourful. The plot is set on two levels and laid out in the ‘Art and Crafts’ style with stone steps leading into areas divided by stone walls and yew hedging. A large rectangular pond with its water lilies is an attractive feature. Vegetables and fruit are all grown there, as well as a one acre vineyard. Astonishingly, help with the garden upkeep is one person for one day once every two weeks. Tea/coffee was served in the Grand Hall, an interesting and unusual coffee stop.

The Laurel House in Chandlers Ford is a delightful and unusual mature wooded garden with areas for reflection and art. It has been designed over 35 years by Garden Designer owner Gill Ellaway. She gave our 17 members the history of the ¾ acre garden followed by her tour, during which she answered many gardening questions. The house was built on an old, dried out, river bed and there was very little garden soil - what was there was stony and difficult to work. The garden, together with its majestic mature trees, colourful herbaceous planting, and shrubs, is deeply mulched with their home-made compost in the Autumn and Winter. After the tour we had a delicious afternoon tea with home-made cakes that we enjoyed in the garden.
We are a friendly group and often stay on for lunch at a local pub or cafe after a visit. It’s always interesting to hear members’ views and thoughts on how it went. In December we get together again for our popular Gardens Group Christmas Lunch.

Rosey Prentice

To email the Group Leader click on the link with his/her name. To obtain the Group Leaders telephone number access the Telephone Directory.

When the group is shown as full, please use the link to send an email to the Group Leader requesting to join the waiting list.