Virtual Open Gardens

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Summer is here and for the green fingered that means only one thing… gardening!

Every year, St Gemma’s supporters and keen gardeners across Leeds and the surrounding area (and, occasionally, further afield!) open their gardens to the public for our ‘Open Gardens’ event. Open Gardens is a fantastic opportunity to peek into spaces that are usually private and pick up plenty of inspiration.

For 2020, we are delighted to still offer you that same chance in our Virtual Open Gardens, where you can explore a variety of green spaces in the videos below.

The St Gemma’s Hospice Gardens

If you love beautiful outdoor spaces, then the St Gemma’s garden is a must for you. Whilst the award winning gardens at the hospice may be closed just now, you can still admire their beauty by taking a virtual tour of the grounds.

They are a haven of peace for both patients and visitors and sit at the very heart of the hospice.

The gardens include favourite features such as the woodland area, Mediterranean garden, the rill, labyrinth, Walls of Light, Path of Life garden and a raised alpine bed. In the virtual tour, you can take a peek in to the gardener’s greenhouse to see what is currently being grown. You can also see the lilac tree which was planted on the 12^th June to celebrate International Nurses Day and to commemorate the 200^th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. Enjoy!

Janet & David’s Garden

Welcome to our garden, it’s a garden where the borders are the main feature along with the view.

We have kept the garden simple and easy to maintain, nothing complicated just easy maintenance and a pleasure to admire when in full bloom.  We hope you enjoy your stroll through our garden!

Michael & Julia’s Garden

Our garden has been developed over the last 35 years which includes construction of a large terrace with stairs and a rockery leading down into the garden, which is quite sheltered. 

We have created a few seating areas to enjoy different views of the garden, two of these being by the pond. We grow bedding plants which we plant in between the many shrubs. 

We are developing a fern garden by the pond and we will be planting out the many dahlias at the end of May. There is something for every season in the garden. Enjoy!

My garden is very important to me it brings me so much pleasure and also makes people smile when they walk by. Many stop to ask me about the flowers I have, most I have grown from seed with many different ones that you can’t buy in garden centres.

I have created colour on either side of the driveway which I start planning in January before sowing them in February. I love quirky containers to grow plants in especially wooden clogs! Since I began entering Leeds in Bloom I have won a Gold award each year and also open my garden to friends and neighbours in support of St Gemma’s Hospice where I’m also fortunate to work. My garden lifts my mood, I love watching seeds grow and seeing the final product – it’s so much cheaper too! Have a go, it’s so much fun!

Louise & David’s Garden

The garden was just lawn when we moved in 2003. We ordered 5 trailer loads of rotted horse muck and started digging the beds. We have used traditional perennials with the centre piece being the cherry tree.

When we started planting the beds we were inundated with rabbits from the field next door and they ate rather too many plants, so we had to fence them all off. As you will see in the video the plants made a full recovery. The rabbits are still here but the damage they do is quite limited and it’s nice to see them hopping about.

Gary & Lynn’s Garden

Gary and Lynn moved into their new house two years ago and have worked hard to transform what was once an overgrown and neglected outdoor space.

With the addition of new hardscaped features, including fences and walls to provide structure and partitions, as well as an array of new plants, they have begun to create a multi-functional space that works for the whole family.

Sue’s Garden

Sue takes us around her front and back gardens, showing us her well-kept borders and flowerbeds that are full of different colours and textures. The inclusion of tall trees and bushes alongside shorter bedding plants ensures interest at all eye levels, and well-placed bird feeders and a bird bath keeps the garden wildlife friendly.

Janet & Carl’s Garden

Our garden is an on-going project of development and renovation. Having purchased our home in October 2013, we were faced with a very overgrown garden dominated by huge Leylandii trees which completely overshadowed the potential.

Over the following years, we have carefully tried to renovate and improve the features re-using and re-cycling the materials that were literally beneath our feet! As complete amateurs, it has been so enjoyable to ‘learn on the job’ about the plants and wildlife around us and hopefully bring back some of the gardens beauty to life for family and friends to enjoy.

Indeed, some of the new additions have come from the plant sales at St Gemma’s Hospice, so we’re very much looking forward to seeing them grow and blossom. Hope you enjoy x

Phil & Marie’s Garden

Phil guides you round his and Marie’s garden, showing how they have created multiple zones to make the best use of both the space and where the light falls at different times of the day.

With clever use of features such as mirrors to give the illusion of more space and the inclusion of trees to draw the eye up whilst also giving more privacy, this is a lovely garden that can be enjoyed at all times of the day.

Ken’s Garden

In this video Ken from Warrington shows us around his well-established garden and describes some of the more unusual features he has incorporated such as a woodland area and a stream that was opened by the Mayor of Warrington back in 2001. Ken used to open his garden to the public for various charities and is pleased to be able to welcome visitors back virtually for 2020.