Monkton Open Gardens

The village of Monkton holds an annual Open Gardens each year. I really love the idea of opening your gardens to the public and several organisations promote them, including the National Gardens Scheme link here  Monkton has some lovely old buildings and a lot of their gardens were looking  beautiful even if they were not part of the Open Gardens.

It was a bit too hot on that day for me, but a brilliant blue sky and bright colours.  I liked the fact that these were ordinary gardens, so not immaculate, but still lovely.  The owners were all keen to talk about their gardens and plant varieties, something I'd have a problem with, as I forget all my plant names. It is good to see where particular plants thrive in the gardens, what conditions work best for them.

Most of the gardens had plant sales so we had a boot full on the way home, resisting giant cacti and focusing on perennials. It seems a fitting activity to take away a bit of the gardens you like for your own garden.

The Village Hall sold refreshments and the popular home made cakes to take away and they were doing a good trade with all the visitors. We were all walking along the village holding the guide maps in our hands.

I have managed to nearly fill my garden this year so can only buy limited plants now, but I enjoy seeing all the variety and remembering where I bought them from.