Gardens galore – and they are not so secret any more

And there was a lot more besides as nine local gardeners opened their gardens to the public, who also called in at four community gardens to check out what was growing – and smelling.

Organised by Liz Barnatt, chair of Higham Ferrers Tourism and staged during perfect weather, the annual Secret Gardens drew record crowds, with the event culminating in the opening of a sensory garden at the Duchy Barn Garden, next to the medieval-styled walled garden of the historic Henry Chichele College.

The Chichele College Management Committee, a sub-committee of Higham Ferrers Tourism, and a team of gardening volunteers, have been developing the garden for the past four years.

Now, aided by generous donors, including the Duchy of Lancaster, which owns the land, a new sensory space featuring colourful and perfumed flowers and rustling grasses that can be touched, has been developed.

“We thought it would also be nice to have a pergola in the sensory garden and Wickes kindly donated the wood for the pergola,” explained Carol Fitzgerald, chair of the Chichele College Management Committee.

Some £6 000 will have been invested by the time the sensory garden – which also features colourful flower boxes that are maintained by the local Gateway Club – is finished in the next few months. That will be when grass is laid in front of the pergola.

Higham Ferrers Mayor, Gary Salmon, officially opened the sensory garden, telling the audience how overwhelming it was to know that there were people who did things for the community at no charge.

He also unveiled an interpretation board for the neighbouring Chichele College Garden, one of the oldest wild gardens in the country that still serves the community. The trees, shrubs, climbing plants, flowers and herbs in the Chichele College Garden all reflect the medieval era.

Visitors got the chance to try their hand at croquet during their tour of the Chichele College Garden.

Over in Handcross Way, Richard Gell, who has been in and out of hospital, said that he made a point of being out of hospital on Secret Garden day so that he could host visitors to his garden, which boasts a large variety of vegetables, a wide range of flowers and shrubs, a patio of potted flowers and a row of colourful hanging baskets.

And the generous Richard kept a bowl of his home-grown strawberries topped up and ready for his stream of visitors.

Meanwhile, in Vine Hill Drive, Cathy Kennedy was welcoming visitors to her transformed garden, which just five years ago was a neglected jumble of sheds, a storage area, and oversized summerhouse, two compost heaps, water butts, a eucalyptus tree, a raised flower bed and a rockery, all divided by fences and gates.

Hours of digging – aided by friends and family – blossomed into an easy-to-maintain garden with sun and shade spots. She embraced recycling by relocating both sheds, sieving gravel and reusing slabs.

Over the road, at the Higham Ferrers Bowls Club, drinks were ready for visitors, who were invited to try their hand at bowls.

Now on a membership drive – social membership is also available - the regulars had brought along an array of plants for any visitors who wanted to take home some flowery souvenirs.

And no Secret Garden would be complete without Julie and Derek Carlton opening their tropical paradise of a garden in Linnetts Lane to the public.

With an abundance of tropical plants, like banana and palm trees, it is difficult to believe that there’s is an English garden and not a steaming hot African paradise.

There is always something new to see and it is difficult to imagine that just a few years ago, their garden was overgrown and uncared for.

The Carlton’s picture library that traces the transformation of their garden, is a testimony to all their hard work.

“Julie spends an hour a day watering and a few extra hours pottering and doing what needs to be done,” her proud husband confided.

All the gardeners will be treated to a “Thank you” evening next month, when Higham Ferrers’s “Hedgehog Mother”, Jackie Bestwick, who has a “Hogspital” in her garden will give a talk.