Thank you Elham for your support!

We have been able to send £6,787.41 to the National Garden Scheme to support their donations to nursing & health charities, of which many are familiar, such as Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Parkinson’s UK, Hospice UK & Mencap. The NGS also fund hospital & community gardens in recognition of the benefits of the surroundings of plants & nature. A number of donations also assist gardening & gardeners whose skills enable us all to enjoy a wide range of national & local schemes including English Heritage, The Garden Museum & gardens bequeathed to Perennial for future public enjoyment.

Some of our brilliant Tea Team & Plant Stall profits will ensure Elham Gardening Society has sufficient funds to continue into the future & we will also be able to give local support to Elham organisations who contribute so much to our thriving village community.

None of this would have been possible without the sterling efforts of our gardeners who provided 12 spectacular gardens. They deserve a huge Thank You. It really did take a village to make the weekend a success & we were delighted to partner The Elham Food & Craft Fair which enabled visitors to truly have a grand day out providing stalls with entertainment in The Square & St Mary’s Church then the gardens also Old Vicarage Teas & Plant Stall offering a calm place to relax. Our visitors were asked to vote for the garden they enjoyed the most – so “The Peoples Choice” NGS Silver Trowel went to Maggie Newington of Church Cottage.

Our helpers were many & varied, from marshalling to washing up & all the many necessary back room jobs. We are grateful to Elham School & The use of The Triangle for parking. We were of course also blessed with two of the best early summer days.

Most importantly we are grateful to you, as Elham residents, for coming along & joining in. While we had visitors from far & wide, we appreciate your support & the NGS endorses this.

Carole Kincaid
Elham Open Gardens Secretary