A team of people drawn from St Mary’s Church and The Wivenhoe Society are planning another Open Gardens weekend this year on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May 2024.
Last year’s Open Gardens Weekend was very successful when we had 650 people pay just £5 each to visit 26 gardens that weekend. Some of the gardens offered teas and cakes whilst some others had plants for sale. It all made for a very sociable weekend.
That meant we raised £4,500. This was split between St Mary’s Church that put its £2,250 towards the maintenance of the church building, whilst The Wivenhoe Society distributed its share between 8 worthy causes in Wivenhoe. The organisations which benefited were: Wivenhoe Guides, Wivenhoe Scout & Guide Association, Reaching Out for Christmas, Wivenhoe Chickens, Nottage Maritime Institute, Wivenhoe Woodcraft Folk, Wivenhoe Lunch Club and Wivenhoe in Bloom.
In 2024, 30 gardeners will open their gardens over the weekend of 18th & 19th May. Several of them will be serving refreshments some with cakes or scones, and a few will be selling plants, all to help raise money for our event. As before, proceeds will be shared in support of the fabric of the church and local causes.
Programmes will also act as the ticket for entry into all the gardens participating in Open Gardens this year. Programmes are £5 per person (Children under 14 years are free). They are available from the Wivenhoe Bookshop, One Stop in Vine Parade or The Old Grocery Gallery in the High Street, or many of the gardens over the weekend.
So you can see which gardens are participating, click here for a copy of the map.
Peter Hill
01206 823073 / 07956 202505
stmaryswivenhoe 