Garden-lovers will have the rare opportunity to explore three exquisite private gardens, as part of the new Open Gardens event by children’s hospice, Julia’s House.
Lady Tania Compton’s Spilsbury Farm in Tisbury, Littlebrook Farmhouse in Blandford Forum, and Carraway Barn in Sturminster Newton, will all open to the public this June.
New for 2024, the Julia's House Open Gardens scheme will vital funds for the Wiltshire and Dorset children’s hospice charity, which provides critical and compassionate care for the most seriously ill children and their families.
As well as exploring the delightful gardens, guests can enjoy homemade cakes and refreshments, and gain gardening tips from the owners.
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Visits must be booked in advance at the Julia’s House website, where more entry information can be found: juliashouse.org/gardens
Lady Tania Compton's Spilsbury Farm, Tisbury, Wiltshire (Saturday, June 15)
Explore the idyllic farmhouse gardens of Spilsbury Farm in Tisbury, from 10am to 5.30pm on June 15.
Home to esteemed garden designer Lady Tania Compton and botanist Dr James Compton, the six-acre gardens are a sweeping mixture of formality and wilderness.
Each one-and-a-half-hour bookable visit will begin with a talk from Tania Compton herself and the opportunity to gain valuable gardening insights and advice.
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Guests can explore the romantic naturalist gardens at their leisure, taking in the ancient oak trees, an orchard with long meadow grass peppered with perennials, and borders billowing with eryngiums, delphiniums, cardoons, and roses.
Entry costs £15 per person, online booking essential.
Julia’s House Events Manager, Hannah Mountford, said: “We’re incredibly thankful to our wonderful supporters who are opening their sensational gardens this year, as part of our very first Open Gardens event. All donations raised will help us provide much-needed respite for parents, offer siblings a chance to unwind, and give children with complex medical conditions the opportunity to have fun and make new friends. The children we support love spending time in the hospice gardens, so having our own Open Gardens feels a special way to connect everyone to the outdoors and enjoy some unique and lovely gardens too.”
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