English Heritage in partnership with the National Garden Scheme (NGS) is delighted to be offering you the chance to experience the beautiful gardens of Walmer Castle in the early evening when the site is closed to the public. Get an insight into how the team develop and enhance these wonderful spaces, carefully managed to ensure how they are presented today reflects their rich history. You will have the opportunity to ask questions of the team as you experience the gardens at this very special event.
Event date: Thursday 25 May 2023, from 5.30pm. To book tickets click here.
Thank you so much in advance for your support. There are a maximum of 50 tickets available for this event.
New partnership between the NGS and English Heritage
As part of a major new partnership the National Garden Scheme is delighted to announce its support for English Heritage’s Historic and Botanic Garden Training Programme (HBGTP). The three-year commitment will mean £125,000 a year of support for seven trainees. The new partnership will also see English Heritage hosting a series of events in support of the National Garden Scheme through its gardens in 2023.
“The future of the Historic and Botanic Garden Training Programme (HBGTP), which allows us to train the next generation of heritage gardeners, has been secured with this substantial commitment from the National Garden Scheme.”
John Watkins, English Heritage’s Head of Gardens and Landscapes
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the National Garden Scheme to secure the future of our award-winning programme. Support from the National Garden Scheme will provide training to the next generation of horticultural specialists working in historic and botanical gardens. English Heritage relies upon philanthropy and partnerships to deliver its charitable purposes, and we are all delighted to welcome the National Garden Scheme as a new supporter and partner.”
Susan Fisher, Development Director at English Heritage
“The HBGTP has acquired an impressive reputation for the quality of its training and experience offered, and for the accessibility and inclusivity of its recruitment of trainees, and the latter is an important priority for us,
“And the events English Heritage is hosting will enable us to showcase our partnership in the fabulous settings of their gardens.”
National Garden Scheme Chief Executive, George Plumptre
The National Garden Scheme has a long-established tradition of supporting and training gardeners through donations to a variety of charities over many years and this new partnership builds on that important legacy.
“We feel there has never been a more important time to promote gardens and gardening to young people and to encourage them through the training on offer in HBGTP.”
George Plumptre
In 2023, the National Garden Scheme-funded trainees and apprentices will be placed in seven gardens, one of them being Walmer Castle & Gardens in Kent. This corresponds to the 2022-23 academic year.
Walmer Castle and Gardens, Kent (Grade II Registered)
The gardens at Walmer mix formal and informal styles, grand-scale herbaceous planting and naturalistic woodland. The Penelope Hobhouse-designed Queen Mother’s Garden is a tranquil combination of still water, rich planting and cool shade. The Broadwalk Garden features an undulating cloud yew hedge and colourful double borders inspired by horticulturist and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Walmer’s nineteenth-century Glen has recently been restored, and there is a 300-year-old Kitchen Garden providing seasonal produce for the café.
For more information, please visit: New partnership between the NGS and English Heritage.
About the National Garden Scheme
The National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique, affordable access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens and raises impressive amounts of money for nursing and health charities through admissions, teas and cake.
Thanks to the generosity of garden owners, volunteers and visitors we have donated over £65 million to nursing and health charities. Founded in 1927 to support district nurses, we are now the most significant charitable funder of nursing in the UK and our beneficiaries include Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK and The Queen’s Nursing Institute.
The National Garden Scheme doesn’t just open beautiful gardens for charity – we are passionate about the physical and mental health benefits of gardens too. We fund projects which promote gardens and gardening as therapy, and in 2017, we launched our annual Gardens and Health Week to raise awareness of the topic.
To find your perfect garden, visit ngs.org.uk, download the National Garden Scheme app or purchase the National Garden Scheme’s Garden Visitor’s Handbook, which is published annually and available via ngs.org.uk/shop and at all good book retailers.
