The Paddock

Pre open day photo shoot, i think everyone would agree that the gardens are looking more beautiful than ever

The National Gardens Scheme opens many gardens to the public, many of which are not normally accessible to the public. Garden visiting in order to raise funds for charity is part of our national heritage which relies on large scale support from the visiting public, individuals, companies and garden owners. The funds raised by NGS are unrestricted which means that the beneficiary charity can use them for projects that are difficult to raise funds for. The NGS continues to increase its charity donations annually.

Ways in which you can help support this unique heritage and increase donations to charity are as follows:-

1. Buy the Yellow Book or give it as a gift.
2. Visit NGS Gardens and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
3. Open your garden with the NGS.
4. Make a donation to support the NGS. You can do this online, by post or at a garden.
5. Become a Corporate Supporter.
6. Remember NGS in your will.
7. Volunteer your time.

Opening gardens for charity from may to aug.

The Paddock Open twice yearly and also to visitors by appointment

The origins and development of the district nursing movement help explain why the NGS was established.

In 1859, a philanthropic Liverpool merchant, William Rathbone, employed a nurse to care for his wife at home. After his wife’s death, Rathbone retained the nurse and asked her to help poor people in the neighbourhood. Then, convinced of the need for wider availability of local nursing care, he raised funds for the recruitment, training and employment of nurses to go into the deprived areas of the city, which he divided into `districts`, each with an honorary `Lady Superintendent`.

This was the beginning of `District` Nursing. By the end of the 19th century, the idea had been taken up across the country and, with the help of Florence Nightingale and the warm approval of Queen Victoria, the movement became a national voluntary organisation responsible for setting standards and training nurses.

By 1926, the service, now renamed the Queen`s Nursing Institute (QNI), set up a new fund to invest in more training and to give pension support to nurses who were retiring after years of service. A Council member, Miss Elsie Wagg, came up with the novel idea of combining a national obsession with gardening with raising money for charity.