A STUNNING private garden in Stocksfield is being opened up to the public once again this summer for charity.
Patricia Hodgson OBE and her husband Derek hold regular garden events at their home each year as part of the National Garden Scheme (NGS).
The initiative gives visitors access to more than 3,500 private gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Channel Islands each year to raise money for nursing and health charities. It will be the 13th time Patricia and Derek are participating.
"People are lovely, very generous," said Patricia. "People like to come and support the charities as well as see the garden."
Her garden has featured on TV show Love Your Garden, hosted by Alan Titchmarsh.
But Patricia insists she is no expert.
"I never saw a plant until I was 26!" she said. "I was brought up in a tenement in Glasgow, and my first home was a tenement in Glasgow when we got married."
Patricia said when they came to England, gradually each time she got a promotion, they moved to a house with a bigger garden.
Patricia and Derek have lived at their home in Stocksfield for 25 years now.
"I had to start from scratch with it because it was just all grass and brambles, it took a bit of doing," she said.
"People think I'm an expert, I'm not. I trust my own extincts. I think you get to know your own garden. You know what does and doesn't work in your own garden rather than try to follow the rules."
The Beacon, at 10 Crabtree Road, will be open on Sunday, June 4 and Sunday, July 2 from 2pm. Admission is £6 per adult, while children go free. All proceeds will go to the NGS' beneficiaries, including Macmillan and Marie Curie.
Cream teas and refreshments are also available, with Patricia donating the proceeds to the NSPCC.
There will also be a plant sale.
Groups who wish to have a private viewing of the garden can arrange to do so between Monday, May 29 and Tuesday, August 2022. A piano recital and stand-up comedy is also available at these events on request.
Patricia can be contacted on 07765862374.
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