Chelsea connections – inspirational gardens to visit this summer

2024 is a special year for the National Garden Scheme as we showcase the charity with our very special show garden at RHS Chelsea. The National Garden Scheme Garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and brought to life by Crocus is fully funded by Project Giving Back and shines a global spotlight on our work and the wonderful gardens we open each year, raising millions for some of the best-loved nursing and health charities in the UK.

Like the thousands of gardens that open each year the Chelsea garden epitomises great planting and design and the deep rooted sense of sharing that epitomises the ethos of the National Garden Scheme. If you were unable to see the garden at Chelsea it will be relocated to a new site for one of our gardens and health charities, Maggie’s, when they create a new garden at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridgeshire and we’ll bring you updates on that build as we have them.

You can find gardening inspiration from the gardens with a Chelsea connection that open for us this year … read on to discover more.

Chelsea connection gardens opening this year:

Brockhampton Cottage, Herefordshire
Opening Dates: Sunday 2 June and Sunday 15 September click here for details
Chelsea Connection: Created from scratch in 1999 by the owner and Tom Stuart-Smith, this beautiful hilltop garden looks south and west over unspoilt countryside. Enjoy a woodland garden, five acre wildflower meadow, a Perry pear orchard and in valley below: lake, stream and arboretum. The extensive borders are planted with drifts of perennials in the modern romantic style.

Grendon Court, Herefordshire
Opening Dates: Sunday 2 June and Sunday 15 September click here for details
Chelsea Connection: A contemporary garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. Planted on two levels, a clever collection of mass-planted perennials and grasses of different heights, textures and colour give all year interest. The upper walled garden with a sea of flowering grasses makes a highlight.

Broughton Grange, Oxfordshire
Opening Dates: Sundays 28 April, 23 June, 28 July, 8 September click here for details
Chelsea Connection: An impressive 25 acres of gardens and light woodland in an attractive Oxfordshire setting. The centrepiece is a large terraced walled garden created by Tom Stuart-Smith in 2001. Vision has been used to blend the gardens into the countryside.

Horatio’s Garden London & South East
Opening Dates: Sunday 12 May and Sunday 15 September click here for details
Chelsea Connection: Opened in September 2020, Horatio’s Garden London & South East located at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore is designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. The garden is on one level with smooth paths throughout ensuring that it is easily accessible to patients in beds and wheelchairs. The essential design features inc a social space, private areas for patients to seek solitude or share with a family member or friend, the calming sound of flowing water, a garden room and a greenhouse. May is the perfect time to see the carpet of tulips and other bulbs.

A number of garden owners who also donated plants open their gardens for the National Garden Scheme – read their story here and discover more about their opening days below:

Westview in Leicestershire – various dates and by arrangement click here for details
St Timothee, Berkshire – opens by arrangement click here for details
Ulting Wick, Essex – 28 April, 11 July, 26 and 30 August click here for details
The Dower House Derbyshire – 22 and 23 June and by arrangement click here for details
Doddington Place, Kent – 22 May, 28 August, 22 September click here for details
Coton Manor Garden, Northamptonshire – open 15 September click here for details
Ravensthorpe Nursery, Northamptonshire – opens on dates in May, June, July and September click here for details

And of course hundreds of wonderful gardens open from May 18, the weekend before Chelsea and for the weeks following, meaning there are lots of opportunities to enjoy a
National Garden Scheme garden wherever you are this summer.

For more about Our Chelsea Garden, click here