A glorious summer day attracted visitors, including Yorkshire holidaymakers, to two open gardens in Hemyock raising £242.

A bungalow on the Castle Park estate enabled visitors to see just how attractive and colourful the smaller garden can be. Along with lawns and a variety of flower beds could be found a glorious mauve clematis covering a fence along with pink roses and other flowers. Here at the home of Roy and Brenda Calcraft there was a plant sale and a raffle to help raise funds.

David and Janice Bawler opened their garden at South View, where members from the Friends of St Mary’s who organised the afternoon, were kept busy serving visitors who were grateful for the garden sunshades helping keep the heat off them as they enjoyed their cream teas. This is a long cottage-style garden with a lawn, fruit and vegetable beds a variety of heather and floral beds as well as trees and shrubs.

Both gardens had plants and shrubs including buddleias which attracted butterflies and other pollinators whilst the larger one had a rewilding area with stream along with a wooden seat at the bottom of the garden.