Public Viewing

[meteor]

There is a community garden festival in the locality this weekend and along with a few other serious vegetable growers I have agreed to open my garden for the public to visit on Sunday next. I am a little apprehensive because my plot is a work in progress and not the final article yet and I have also received some ridicule from elements in the locality over my new self sufficient lifestyle and fear some may just come to mock and sneer.
Has anyone ever thrown their gardens open to the public like this, if things don't go well Sunday I may be back here for some comforting words to sooth my bruised gardening ego
wish me luck
cheers

[gardening_gal]

Personally speaking, I'd prefer to see a work in progress, that way I get to understand the work involved and not just see the pretty finished article if that makes sense.

If anyone did come simply to mock, it would be pretty self evident that they would have a bit of a personality or character problem and my advice is to pity their low level of understanding.

Good luck. I'm sure it will all go just fine.

[veggiechicken]

Wish I lived nearer - I'd be there like a shot. Love looking at other people's gardens - especially the veggie ones - and I'm sure there are many others who feel the same way..
If there is any mocking put it down to jealousy and a lack of understanding (as GG said).
You won't need us for comfort but do come on and tell us how it went.

[Ananke]

If anyone came just to mock, it says more about them than it does about you.

Throw your garden gates open and let people see what a great thing you are doing

[noviceveggrower]

Good luck
Thing is if people see its still work in progress then you can tell them what things were like, how things are now and what the plans are for the future. If you inspire that one person to make a change in their lives either getting an allotment or growing their own then its worth it.
Never know someone might give you some ideas to.

[meteor]

Veggiechicken I love looking at other peoples gardens, you can learn so much and see different methods and ideas , even looking at pictures of other peoples plots can be so enjoyable. Years ago when I would get a new foreign posting I would always seek out the local fruit and veg market to just see what was grown locally and find the producers.
Judging by the amount of people passing by in cars who slow down just to peer at my plot I know there is an appetite out there for it,the only downside is I won't be able to visit other gardens because of my hosting duties. Many thanks everyone for all the encouragement, I'm really looking forward to it now, Sunday can't come around soon enough.

[veggiechicken]

There's an Open gardens event in a local village and those who open their gardens, have a private viewing of the other gardens on another day - with a thank you meal as well.
Maybe you have some before and after photos to show visitors - they're always interesting to us sticky beaks

[dim]

I enetered a garden competion .... or should I say that my wife entered it

we are in a council house and the garden was a jungle when we moved in a year ago .... the brambles were so tall, that you could not see through the kitchen window

that was a year ago .... after hard work, (and little cash), I still managed to win 'the best new garden in cambridgeshire' ... looking ok, lawns are lush and I have planted some unusual plants... still lots to do though

so, go for it! ... nothing ventured .... nothing gained!

I'm still not sure what I've won, but think its vouchers from a garden centre .... I was too shy to ask the prize, but received a letter stating that in Oct we will be going for the formal prize presentations

[planetologist]

I open my garden once a year through Garden Organic:
Gardens opening this year
Not many people know about this GO initiative, but it's lovely even to see a few people.

[ghoti_fish]

I LOVE looking at allotments - I'm sure no one spends as much time noseying round our local plots as I do (I am a plot holder there so its OK). My husband thinks they look scruffy but nothing cheers me more on a car journey than seeing the tumble-down sheds and mish-mash of netting and poles of an alottment site. I don't think it matters what they look like as long as you can see productivity and greenery!
We recently visited some national trust properties, one of which had its own allotment plots too - Much more interesting than all those box hedges and ornamental fountains of the formal gardens!
Good luck on your open garden - let us know what feedback you get!

[Green Gerkin]

Good luck on your open garden meteor, I'm sure it will be fine.
I love looking at people's gardens to give me ideas, I quite often go to the local allotments to have a nosey from the gate. 😀


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[Bren In Pots]

Meteor I've had a look at your photo album here on the vine and I'd say you've got a fine plot any comments are going to be positive ones

[two brews]

Meteor I have just spent a pleasurable time looking at your albums they are fantastic.They show the full extent of all the hard work you have put into your garden from start to present if you have these albums on show at your open day there is nobody who could deny what a fabulous place you have.I hope you really enjoy your day .

[WendyC]

I showed a lady round my garden last year in the rain. She said she often walked by and from the front wondered what the back was like. My husband was in the garage so they got chatting, hence the tour.
Good luck with your garden open day. I've never been brave enough!

[meteor]

Hello everyone and thanks for all your kind remarks, my apologies for not posting sooner but with the fine weather since Sunday I have been busy harvesting onions etc , planting and sowing for winter and spring veg and painted my house's exterior.The weather was lovely and the day went well with a steady string of visitors up untill mid afternoon and then I was in competition with a gaelic football all Ireland semi final match on television and numbers dropped off. Most of the early visitors were young families from a few nearby villages, mostly Dublin couples who moved down here during the boom time because Dublin city house prices were so high. The afternoon consisted of mostly long time local residents and for some reason lots of polish people. I provided two urns of my home made soup, a beetroot and a carrot and coriander with crusty home baked bread. People were reticent at first with the soups as they were out of their comfort zone but with some gentle persuasion were greatly surprised and really appreciated the taste. The polish visitors devoured the beetroot soup saying it was like what their mother's made, this chuffed me no end. Most were amazed with range and varieties in my garden however a couple of things struck me;
1.How conservative most Irish people (maybe British people too?) are to their vegetables. Potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots and parsnips are it, anything else are exotics. They could not understand why I would want to grow the extensive range I do and I found it mind blowing that many people admitted they had never tasted runner beans. A typical converation was.
What is that?
It is a winter squash would you like one?
No I don't like them
Have you ever eaten one ?
No but I know I would not like them.
How do you compete with that logic
2.There is a complete breakdown in vegetables from source to table, so many had never seen common veg growing or could recognise parsnips or carrots etc in the ground.
3. People did not know that tender veg like cucumbers etc are easily grown in our country.
4. How more knowledgeable my continental visitors, now living locally, are to vegetable growing and cooking.Mostly Polish but I also had Belgian, Dutch and Italian families. They were greatly surprised that I had crops of kohl rabbi and florence fennel to name a few and I was glad to supply them my surplus.
If one family only are inspired to grow their own I will consider it a success and would probably do it again if asked.
As I feared there were a few negative comments from a couple of long establised local families.
One old woman called me a hippie and a disgrace, another gent said my father must be turning in his grave with shame. I don't understand why my lifestyle now upsets them, I pay all my taxes; income tax, universal social charge , road and property tax and donate surplus food to charities, flowers to the local churches etc and I am not a burden on society.Some people are just narrow mined and bigotted I suppose