News

Every year, amazing gardens throughout Shropshire open for the National Gardens Scheme which raises money for cancer and caring charities including Macmillan, Carer's Trust, Hospice UK, Parkinson's , Horatio's, The Queens Nursing Institute and Marie Curie.

The National Garden Scheme has been operating for nearly 100 years and Shropshire's involvement started right at the beginning. 

Some gardens open for specific days, some only by appointment and some open as a group.

The Shropshire branch of the scheme raised over £90,000 for our beneficiaries in the 2025 season. Nationally, in 2025 the scheme was able to make donations to the beneficiaries which exceeded £3.8 million pounds. 

 The "Yellow Book" published by the NGS, includes many of Shropshire's best gardens, some magnificent country estates and some hidden jewels owned by ordinary garden-lovers, offering a cost-effective day out, with beautiful gardens and home-made refreshments, all raising money for our good causes.

 A leaflet showing all the gardens open for charity in Shropshire is widely-available at libraries, tourist centres, garden centres and many other sources. Shropshire NGS volunteers are always on the look out for NEW gardens, NEW volunteers and anyone who would like to offer help with publicity, refreshments, delivering booklets and welcoming our lovely visitors.

Looking forward to the 2026/2027 seasons, we are keen to look to the future and recruit:

•  More gardens.

• Gardens especially owned/run by young people or people with diverse needs.

• Community gardens.

• Gardens in villages or towns that would be suitable for designing a garden trail around.

The National Garden Scheme is very aware of the benefits to health and well-being that making and visiting a garden can have. It is also likely that programmes in your communities have a connection to health, gardening, community engagement and local tourism.  We are keen to engage with all communities and would be especially interested in any groups who could benefit from our Community Garden Scheme which provides funds for local projects across the whole scheme. Two Community Projects in Shropshire were selected to receive funding from us in 2025.

We are always on the look out for volunteers to help with a multitude of tasks which range from publicity, distributing stationery, collecting entrance money and even parking. The team in Shropshire (as in all counties) is made up entirely of volunteers who give their time for free to raise funds for our beneficiaries.