The February half term is the perfect chance to kick start your 2026 garden visiting, to get the children away from their screens and into nature, and to enjoy a wonderful National Garden Scheme garden complete with tea and cake. What’s more, children go free at the majority of the gardens making it a refreshingly affordable family day out.
You can now pre-order our Garden Visitor’s Handbook 2026. It will arrive hot off the press at the start of the garden visiting season next year offering you thousands of gardens to explore including new horticultural gems and old favourites to revisit. Every purchase you make supports the National Garden Scheme and the vital nursing and health beneficiaries we support.
National Garden Scheme Chief Executive, Dr Richard Claxton, reflects on his first 100 days in post. From the end of the 2025 season with its record-breaking donations to our nursing and health beneficiaries, to the garden visiting year ahead.
The National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique access to over 3,300 exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands and raises impressive amounts of money for nursing and health charities through admissions, teas and cake. We can’t do this without the wonderful support of our garden owners. Find out more about opening your garden and being part of the wonderful National Garden Scheme family.
2025 was another landmark year for the National Garden Scheme with a record £3,875,596 donated from funds gathered at garden openings throughout the year. The donations helped thousands of people living with cancer, Parkinson’s, poor mental health, or the pressures of unpaid caring, by supporting the nurses, health professionals and case workers who care for them.
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activities throughout the year
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£288,876
