LAST year was a spectacular year for the National Garden Scheme in Powys. There were around 8,000 visitors and, amazingly, we raised over £46,000 for charity.

What a great result for the 90th anniversary year of the National Garden Scheme. A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible – you, our wonderful visitors, the fantastic garden owners and the volunteers who helped them.

Hurdley Hall was one of our new gardens last year. We asked the owners about their experience of opening their garden to the public. This is what they said.

“We’d worked on our garden at Hurdley Hall, near Montgomery, for the past 10 years and as it improved, people started to suggest that we should open to the public. We’d visited lots of NGS gardens locally and thought it might be a great challenge so we asked Susan Paynton, our local NGS contact, to visit us. She was so positive and enthusiastic, we agreed there and then to open our garden the following year. We decided to open for two weekends (and host groups by arrangement). We had an orchestra on the first weekend and a swingband on the second. We were unbelievably lucky with the weather – the first weekend was the hottest of the year and for both weekends, it was wall-to-wall sunshine. It proved to be popular – we had over 800 visitors and six garden groups visit. Getting the garden organised was hard work and there were lots of practical things to think about and prepare for, from persuading people to help, organising parking, baking cakes, putting up posters to advertise the event, to making sure there was enough seating. Every bit of effort was worth it.

Garden visitors are almost universally friendly, positive, funny, quirky and interesting. There was a wonderful mix of neighbours, locals, as well as visitors from all over the UK and abroad. We also had a number of people turn up who had lived in the property back in the 1940s who brought photos and letters relating to the house. It was hectic on both Sunday afternoons and at one point we had 14 helpers to cope with everything and even then we could hardly keep up with the washing up. Despite that, the whole experience was just great and we raised just over £4,500. People were so generous with their support and their comments.

Many of your favourite gardens will be open in 2018 as well as eight new exciting gardens for you to enjoy. As well as gardens which open on specific days, there are 13 gardens offering to open by arrangement at a time to suit you. These gardens offer a unique, stunning space you can enjoy with a group of friends, family or as part of an organised day out with your local society. Whether you’re a group of enthusiastic amateur gardeners or photography club looking for inspiration come expecting a warm welcome, a good brew and plenty of cake. All the gardens listed are opened by volunteers who share their passion and raise impressive amounts of money for charity. Look out for our 2018 booklet in tourist information centres, libraries, shops, tearooms and post offices throughout the county.

Hurdley Hall, Hurdley, Churchstoke, will be open again in June and July and by arrangement for groups of 10+ from June to August. Contact Simon Cain, simon.cain@westbourne consulting.com to arrange your visit.

Also open by arrangement: Fraithwen, Tregynon. This one-acre plantswoman’s garden is filled with rare plants for year-round interest including spring bulbs, alpines, alstroemeria collection and lilies. Contact Sydney Thomas on 01686 650307.

Llysdinam, Newbridge-on-Wye offers conducted tours and refreshments for groups of 15 or more people. Call Mary Elster on 01597 860190 or email [email protected].

You can discover more about our gardens and the charities supported by the National Garden Scheme at www.ngs.org.uk and by following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @powysngs