Horticultural delights on view in garden walkabout

FOR keen Gosport gardeners who could not get to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the Alverstoke Garden Walkabout offers a much closer-to-home opportunity to enjoy horticultural delights and ideas.

For the price of a ticket, people will be able to inspect 15 private gardens – five of which will be selling teas, home-made cakes and scones – over the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd of July with the proceeds from the sale of tickets, plants, cuttings and refreshments going to the fund for the The Alverstoke Parish Centre Regeneration Project.

There is also the promise of a Pimms tent at the Parish Centre.

Each day, the gardens will be open between 1pm and 5pm, and the event will be opened by Gosport’s Mayor Councillor Jamie Hutchison.

The organisers say that Alverstoke’s seaside microclimate allows palms and exotic plants to thrive, and on view will be wildlife ponds, model railways, aviaries, greenhouses, and garden art compete with brick-built vegetable beds, plant walls, ferneries, and rockeries.

Most of the gardens are wheelchair accessible and there are toilets at the Parish Centre.

The tickets cost £8 for an adult – accompanying children go free – and will be available from June 1 either online HERE or at the Parish Centre, Alverstoke Village Hardware shop, Queen’s Parade News, and the Gosport Tourist Information Centre.

On the days of the walkabouts, tickets will be available at the Parish Centre and participating gardens.

‘Walkabouters’ are being advised to bring cash to buy cuttings and plants and pay for refreshments (except at the Parish Centre which has a card facility for tickets only).

Last year’s garden walkabout attracted more than 500 visitors and raised more than £6,000.

Photograph (top): one of the gardens in bloom last year. Alverstoke Garden Walkabout, reproduced with permission.