Leicestershire National Garden Scheme Open Gardens July 2024
There are 29 gardens opening around Leicestershire in July, including three groups of gardens where you can visit several gardens for one ticket price.
Opening every Wednesday throughout July is Stoke Albany House near Market Harborough LE16 8PT from 2.00 to 4.30pm. A large four acre country house garden, with fine trees, herbaceous borders, a sweeping striped lawn. There is an impressive display of roses, a Mediterranean garden, water features and various sculptures.
Next to open on Saturday, the 6th of July are two gardens at 12 and 22 Hastings close DE73 8BN from 1.00 to 5.00pm. No12 is a Prairie style garden, which also has many roses and a mix of perennials. The South facing garden at 22, divided into three rooms, showcases a different planting style in each room, including alpines, Acers, and traditional perennial borders.
On Sunday the 7th of July there is a group of gardens opening at Market Bosworth CV13 0LE, from 11am to 5.00pm. With one admission fee, you can visit 10 different gardens in the lovely market town, all of which are within walking distance of the Market Square. The gardens are: Glebe Farmhouse, 37 Heath Rd, 4 Lancaster Ave, 26 Northumberland Ave, 157 The Park, 22 and 30 Park St, 13 Spinney Hill, 138 Station Rd, 2 Tudor Close, and 10 Weston Drive. Within these gardens there are many planting styles, including shade-loving plants, a courtyard garden, tropical plants, a formal garden with pond, a traditional cottage garden, and colourful displays of bedding, wildlife pond, and a contemporary garden. Something for everyone to enjoy for a single ticket price of £7.50 with refreshments available at several gardens. There is a descriptive map to guide you, and some gardens will have plant sales.
Over the weekend of 13th and 14th July, Wigston gardens LE18 3LF have a group of five gardens open from 11.00am to 5.00pm for one ticket price of £6.00. The four gardens are: 28 Gladstone St, 2A homestead Dr, Little Dale Wildlife Garden, Vallenvina 6 Abington Close. These gardens are a mix of traditional and formal planting, with wild flowers, upcycling, and prairie style planting. Most of the gardens are within walking distance, but you may need a car to visit all the gardens or enjoy a walk. There will be homemade teas at Little Dale Wildlife Garden and 28 Gladstone St.
Also open on Saturday 3th (12noon to 4.00pm) and Sunday 14th (12noon to 3.00pm) is 8 Hinckley Rd CV13 6DU. A lovely S SW facing garden with water features, unusual climbers and perennials, many of which are represented and included in the plant sale. There is wheelchair access to the garden room patio, which provides a view of the lower garden.
On Sunday the 14th of July there is another group of gardens opening at Willoughby LE8 6UD from 11.00am to 5.00pm. One ticket price of £6.00 is entry to seven gardens: 2 Church Farm Lane, Farmway, High Meadow, St. John’s Wood, Kapalua, 3 Orchard Road and 3 Yew Tree Close. A real mix of gardens, full of summer colour, including over 70 Clematis, a nature reserve planted to encourage wildlife, a professionally designed garden, and a plant lover’s garden with unusual planting. There is a lovely south facing garden, a mature garden with an ornamental vegetable garden and countryside views and a cottage style garden. There will be a plant sale at Farmway with over 200 perennial plants.
Open on the 14th and 17th of July is Green Wicket Farm LE17 4LR 2.00 to 5.00pm. A formal garden surrounded by fields, with many unusual plants and a range of colour themed borders. Accessible parking and access to the whole garden.
The Secret Garden at Glenfield Hospital will open on the 20th of July LE3 9QP 2.00 to 5.00. This tranquil garden is located in hospital grounds. It has been lovingly designed and restored for the benefit of visitors. A colourful garden with roses, lavender, salvias, penstemon, sweet peas, erigeron daisies, geraniums, and wild flowers in bloom. There will also be on show fruit trees, herbs and vegetables. There will be Arts and Crafts Pop-up Stalls, a plant sale and refreshments.
The last garden to open in July on the 21st will be St Wolstan’s House L18 3RA 11.00am to 5.00pm About half an acre of garden divided into rooms with formal and informal planting which includes a white garden, rose garden, sunken Italian garden, rose and wisteria pergola, an Edwardian conservatory and many raised beds.
Thanks to the generosity of our garden owners and visitors, the National Garden Scheme donated a record of £3,403,960 to some of the UK best-loved nursing and health charities, which included £76,000 raised by Leicestershire.
Carol Bartlett Leicestershire National Garden Scheme Publicity volunteer. For more garden details visit www.ngs.org.uk
