The 5th and 6th June 2021 were set as the date of our NGS garden Ferns Lodge opening way back in 2020 – it seemed a long way away as we struggled with the vegetable garden, diggers, composting, planting and getting ready… Of course, the one thing you can’t call is the weather and as the 5th dawned it was clear – it was going to be lovely!!! and it was… Sunday was cooler but fab…
This little garden raised nearly £1,600 for the National Garden Scheme’s hospital charities, and welcomed over 200 people. Industrial numbers of scones with jam and clotted cream, delicious cups cakes and brownies were eaten… Literally gallons of tea were dispensed and our plant stall (with lovely chutney made by plant lady Barbara) raised stacks. A MASSIVE thank you to you all for visiting, donating and enjoying the garden… It’s what makes it all worthwhile.
Also big thanks to the amazing chaps who did all the hard work – Sue, Sophie, Adele and Julie in the kitchen. Michael, Helen and Rich in the gardens and helping people park in the lovely field – for which, thank you to Cameron for the loan. Big thanks to Isabel – our FO – in charge of the splosh, to Lawrence who drives this blog and all the Ferns Lodge social media, to Barbara on plants and to all our cake, scone, cupcake and brownie chefs – without you guys, Ghillie and I would have looked pretty ordinary! Of course gardener Simon was everywhere and is a star.
So now the people have gone, and the garden has relaxed back into summer mode – in the past week everything has grown exponentially and there is lots to do. Caterpillar has reappeared from his box in the kitchen, now that Ghillie no longer has 100+ people willing to throw tennis balls for him! The sun has remained in full force and there is much watering to do, and the garden is now in full flush…
We are now plotting and planning the next changes and how we continue with the garden restoration and putting the next parts of the puzzle together which is great fun, and we hope to see many of you here again next year to see how far we have got and hopefully in glorious sunny weather!!!
For the balance of the season, we are super keen to welcome small groups to Ferns Lodge to have a look at the garden in aid of the NGS. There will be scones and good tea, or maybe a glass of wine in the cool of an early evening. If you think that this is something that you would like to do, please do get in touch…
Contact sue.grant@fernslodge.co.uk.