The first-ever Calverley Open Gardens, with 13 gardens open to the public, was a huge success and raised £900 for the Hedgehoggery, the local hedgehog charity, writes Anne Akers.
Visitors came from all over Yorkshire to take a look at the gardens on display, said Debbie Winder, who had the idea for the event after visiting similar successful events. She added:
“We were surprised at how popular our gardens were, and that people travelled from further away to visit them. We honestly thought there would just be a few locals.”
Visitors saw small, large, landscaped and work-in-progress gardens, including wildflower meadows, vegetable patches, wildlife and beautiful planting.
Refreshments were also on offer, along with hand-knitted hedgehogs, made by the Knitwits, the village knitting group which meets in the library every other Monday afternoon.
Debbie said it was so successful she hoped it would become an annual event and appealed for anyone interested in opening their garden to contact her via the Facebook page.
The In Bloom judges will be in Calverley on Tuesday (16 July), with the village hoping for gold after the silver gilt in spring.
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