Unless you live in a stately home, or your house is up for sale, you would never invite strangers to inspect your home — and you certainly wouldn’t charge them to do so.
Gardens, though, are a different matter. Three years ago, someone suggested I open my own. Why did I agree? Well, I happen to live opposite possibly the oldest building in Rodborough, our village in Gloucestershire, which needed a lot of work. As a community, we had been doing the usual quiz nights, book sales and banquets, but, if you need to raise a lot of money, you need to think bigger. So when Sarah Watts, my wonderful gardener, suggested that opening our gardens and putting sculptures in them to add interest, I had to pay attention.
It took a while to persuade some of our neighbours to join in — it’s best to have a number open on the same day. One family agreed only with reluctance, but, once the event was under way and everyone was saying “What an amazing garden”, they were delighted. My husband — not a gardener, nor even someone who sits in it — suddenly saw our own through others’ eyes and realised what a wonderful job Sarah does. (Disclaimer: I didn’t do the recent hard work, but a lot of its “bones” were put there by me.)
Open gardens really bring a community together, as everyone works hard to make it a success and people who didn’t know each other before have developed close friendships. Afterwards, I think many of us pretty much give up gardening for the rest of the summer: having done so much work, a little tweaking is all that is required.
Someone once asked me if I thought some people might visit out of nosiness. Of course they do! Looking round other people’s gardens is all about nosiness, but it’s also about getting new ideas and sharing solutions. I live in a hilly area: while that gives many of us spectacular, far-reaching views, it can present difficulties if you want a bit of level lawn. My garden has a small cliff face in it, which adds interest, but is no good for football. We also have honey fungus, and Sarah has to track down resistant varieties of anything new that is planted.
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I don’t worry terribly about people stealing cuttings — I haven’t got anything particularly unusual, so it would hardly be worth their while. The one faintly rare thing I do have is a white rosebay willowherb, which is a bit of a thug. I’d happily dig up a bit and give it away.
We have a place to buy a ticket and get a map and a stamp on your hand (so rock’n’roll!), but I’m too embarrassed to check if friends have paid. I just hope they realise they should have, as it’s all for a good cause.
People also come for the cake, the soup, the ice cream — but mostly the cake. We are lucky in that the building we are raising money for has good loos (very important) and an excellent kitchen and hatch. Last year we had a Fforde family shift, with my son and his wife; my daughter; her two children, aged 5 and 7 (excellent table-clearers); and me. It’s such fun chatting to people. It quite made me miss the old days, when I used to work in a cafe.
What one can’t believe is how much cake is got through. I sometimes wonder if people just like the gluten-free ones because they are often made with ground almonds, and are extra-delicious. I always make cheese scones, too, for people who don’t want to eat sugar. Soup and bread goes down well at lunchtime. We make sure the soup is vegan and gluten-free, and provide some gluten-free bread.
Although the British public are pretty brave about putting on the wet-weather gear and setting off into a downpour, more people come if the weather is fine. So, this year, we are improving our chances and opening for a weekend. This is a lot more effort, but not twice as much, and artists are keener to transport their work to the gardens if it’s going to be there for two days, rather than just a few hours.
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There’s a lot to arrange, especially if you add artists. Sarah, who has a huge amount of patience, rallies them all and takes them on tours of the gardens, so they can choose where they want their pieces to go. It is worth the effort, though, as the art adds a lot to the experience. Although we try to find new gardens, inevitably people will have seen at least some of them before. But add sculpture and the whole garden will seem refreshed.
The artists themselves add an interactive quality. This year there will be events going on in the nearby park, so children can create 3D works. Artists demonstrate what they do, and I was delighted to see that Darren Rumley, whom we had the first year, had a piece at the Chelsea Flower Show this year.
I am notorious for putting my life into my books and so, of course, I had to put an open garden with art into my latest novel. As it is set in a stately home, it is on a rather different scale from my own, but the experience was still useful. I do sign books (the proceeds go to the general fund), but mostly people are there to look at gardens they don’t have to maintain themselves — and to eat cake.
The Hidden Gardens and Sculpture of Rodborough will be open next Saturday and Sunday, 11am-5pm (entry £5; rodboroughrealgardens.com)
A Secret Garden by Katie Fforde is published by Century at £12.99
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Top tips
• Provide a really good map if more than one garden is opening. Depending on how hi-tech you are, this can be hand-drawn, or a Google map embedded on your own website.
• Try to make sure all residents, even those not opening their gardens, know what’s going on and are happy with it.
• Ensure people can’t get in without paying. People sometimes do it by mistake and it’s embarrassing to have to check.
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• Ask locals for their help. You will need stewards, garden-sitters (to make sure nothing is stolen), people directing traffic and all sorts of unforeseeable things. Make sure they are fully appreciated and part of the party.
• Have a first-aider (with a medical kit) on hand. You probably won’t need them, but better safe than sorry.
• You will need mountains of cake. Portion it properly, as it’s annoying to see a huge piece that no one could possibly finish being sold for less than the cost of the ingredients.
• If someone produces one cake, that is a gift, but if they make lots, they should have their costs repaid. If there’s any left over, you can give whole cakes as thank-you presents to those directing traffic and so on.
• Remember to thank everyone afterwards. They will feel more included and be more likely to help again.
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• The whole thing is supposed to be fun: while everyone should do as much as possible to make sure it all works, it probably isn’t the end of the world if something goes wrong. So do remember to have a laugh about it.
• Tell your house insurer. Most won’t ask for extra money if there is someone making sure that nobody steals anything or comes into the house.