Come on in to the first ever Virtual Histon & Impington Open Gardens. All the gardens are now available for your viewing pleasure on our new YouTube channel, Histon & Impington Open Gardens. You’ll have to bring your own tea and scones, I’m afraid.
To watch the videos please go to our Histon & Impington Gardens playlist here.
To donate please visit our Go Fund Me page here:
Histon & Impington Virtual Open Gardens, Sunday 5 July 2020
Would you like to visit some of Histon & Impington’s beautiful private gardens? Of course you would. Do you want to do so safely, without leaving your home? Yes, we thought so too and that’s why we’ve organised a special, one-off Virtual Histon & Impington Open Gardens for 2020. And it starts tomorrow, Sunday 5 July 2020 at 10am! Keen gardeners from our villages sent in short videos of their horticultural pride and joy to share with you for the next month until Sunday 2 August.
Here’s a message from Histon & Impington Open Gardens Chair, Katrina Voss:
‘Since the outbreak of COVID-19, our village schools have been unable to raise funds in their usual ways, due to numerous events being cancelled, while also facing increased demands for resources. For instance, they need to supply simple equipment such as more pens, so each child can have his/her own and sanitising products to allow our villages’ children and their teachers to return to work safely and with confidence.
‘So we are raising money to be split between the four schools in Histon & Impington, including the Histon Early Years Centre. The money will be given to the PTAs of each school to spend on these much-needed extra resources.
‘This is an urgent request as these resources must be found and acquired in good time for the start of the new term in September. All our villages’ children and the staff will benefit from any donations you can make, however small, and we are all so grateful for your generosity. On behalf of all of us on the Histon & Impington Open Gardens Committee, the garden owners who have made these lovely videos for us and the staff and children of our village schools, THANKYOU!’
To view the gardens online visit Histon & Impington Open Gardens YouTube channel here.
To donate please visit our Go FundMe page here.
Photo: Brian Ing
We know you all miss Open Gardens on the in-between year when it’s not on, so this year we decided to hold a Virtual Open Gardens event on Sunday 5 July to cheer us all up in these difficult times, but we need your help to do it.
Would you like to show off your garden as part of our virtual event? Have you had extra time to lavish it with even more care than usual during lockdown but have no-one to show it off to? If so, we’re right with you!
We’re asking residents of Histon & Impington to make a short video (maximum 5 minutes) of their garden/outdoor space so we can safely show our community the beautiful private spaces of our villages, via our website and social media.
The video doesn’t need to be professional quality and you don’t even have to appear in it yourself if you’re camera-shy. You can show us as much or as little as you’d like; it could be an overall flavour of your garden, just the bits you’re proud of (we’ve all got work-in-progress areas), or even just your favourite plant or spot in your garden. It can be silent or voiced-over by you or someone else. We want it all!
Your video should be:
Please send your video, along with your full name, street and village name to info@opengardens.org. The closing date for entries is 5pm on Thursday 2 July. Looking forward to hearing from you to help us brighten up these challenging times.
IMPORTANT: By sending in your video, you agree to publication on the Open Gardens website https://og.hisimp.com/ and other Open Gardens social media channels. We cannot guarantee to show all videos submitted and the final choice is at the discretion of the Open Gardens Committee.
Photo: © Brian Ing
This beautiful drought-tolerant border below is looking perfect right now, ready for everyone to visit at one of our brand new gardens, Garden no. 4, Burgoynes House, owned by Gwen and Les Borysiewicz. Their knowledgeable gardeners, Victor Impey and Maeve Polkinhorn, who designed and planted the border, will be on hand to chat to you on Sunday 9 June. ‘We love the garden,’ says owner Les. ‘The border has been imaginatively planted by Vic and Maeve and gives us interest and colour throughout the year. But we also enjoy the plants and trees and their subtle colours in the more informal and shaded areas.’
This spring Vic and Maeve have carefully divided and nurtured many of the plants in these photos, ready for our plant stall, so that you can develop a dry garden for yourself. Some of the beautiful specimens on offer include:
So far, the last two weekends of plant sales have been a great success. Jane Morris, gardening enthusiast and Open Gardens committee member in charge of the stall says, ‘All the plants on sale have been grown in Histon and Impington and we are happy to help people with requests such plants suitable for certain soil types, sun/shade or a garden for children. So far we have raised £350 and promoted the joy of gardening.’ Don’t miss out as these plants won’t hang around long!
All money raised from plant sales will go to four local charities, Arthur Rank Hospice, Cavendish School Garden Project, Opportunity Playgroup and Histon & Impington Feast. The final day of programme and plants sales is this Sunday 9 June from 9:30 – 12:30. Programmes are £6 on the day and include a map of all garden locations.
If you’re taking little ones to Histon & Impington Open Gardens this weekend, be sure to visit the grounds of Histon Manor, where the owners will be doing book readings from their very own children’s book series, Fitz and Will, the Cambridge Cats, by local writer Laura Robson Brown, which follows the adventures of two mischievous cats across the city.
The cats, Fitz and Will, will be there in mascot form to meet children at the front of the manor, from where they will be taken for a book reading by Katherine Mann, the originator and publisher of the Fitz & Will series. The readings will take place at 2pm and 4pm on Sunday 9 June.
Katherine is also the owner of Histon Manor, along with her husband Rob. The gardens themselves are a fascinating place to visit, filled with history and mystery. The Manns, who moved into the manor less than a year ago, say the grounds are still very much a work in progress: ‘The gardens are in their very initial stages of restoration, but we hope you enjoy exploring them,’ says Katherine. ‘They cover approximately 11 acres and include a formal garden, lawned areas, wooded grounds and fields for animals.’
Deep in the lush green woods is also a mysterious island surrounded by a moat, perfect for explorers big and small. Cross a quaint wooden bridge and you’ll find yourself in a tiny green island world, where the original manor may have stood in medieval times.
If relaxation – rather than exploration – is more your thing, you can enjoy the charms of the rest of the garden with a cup of tea or coffee, which will also be on sale at the garden. All proceeds go to four local charities.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to water hazards present, children need to be accompanied at all times in this garden.
Programmes (which double as your entry ticket) are on sale at the following locations: Station Stores, The Geographer, Histon Post Office, Lighthouse Toys, St Andrew’s Café. £5 in advance, £6 on the day.
Prepare for some oriental charm at garden number 15 at 3 Cooke Walk in Impington, as its owners have worked hard over the last few years to introduce touches of the Far East onto the blank canvas of the garden of a new house. According to owners Trevor and Phillipa Smith theirs is, ‘A small town garden recently designed and developed on a green-field site with a distinctive oriental character.’
Their aim was to make best use of the limited space to create both a lounge and dining room with enough space for entertaining, whilst bringing in distinctive character and interest. With water features, oriental swing seat, mini bridge and room spaces for both dining and relaxing – they have achieved just that, so you’ll find a surprising number of aspects to explore.
The garden was designed in early 2014 with work starting in May of that year. Pride of place is an oriental-styled swing seat with its very own dragon-tipped canopy, close to a gently bubbling Zen-like rock water feature, all softened with exotic planting and contrasting foliage. Beautiful Japanese maples contrast with the lime-toned foliage of larger trees.
Trevor adds, ‘the choice of low hedging creates a sense of peace and seclusion. Geometric black limestone paving and grey granite walling, together with elegant Japanese-style topiary, lend formality and planting aims to provide year-round colour and interest.’
The little details have not been forgotten either, from the pretty wooden bridge spanning a dry ‘riverbed’ and the Oriental metal lantern on one corner of the canopy, to a bamboo rod at the end of the rope, used to pull the swing seat back and forth while you’re sitting on it. Zen tranquillity at its best.
Histon & Impington’s popular Open Gardens event is back this June and it’s bigger and better than ever before.
Ever wondered what goes on behind the façade of the houses of Histon & Impington? Well, now you can find out, botanically speaking, that is. Histon & Impington Open Gardens is back this summer on Sunday 9th June and it’s bigger and better than ever before.
Out of a total of 18 gardens opening – our biggest number to date – 11 are new additions, opening to the public for the very first time. So whether you’re a veteran of Open Gardens or you’re new to the idea of visiting our villages’ beautiful private spaces, you’re all in for a treat!
The gardens on offer will tempt gardens lovers of every type. There are small, secluded spaces where water bubbles and chickens, cats and even pigs roam free, or grand landscapes with moats, islands and mysterious woods. Feast your eyes on the pretty planting of herbaceous borders or formal shrubbery. Japanese-themed beds mix with collections of Mediterranean drought-tolerant plants. Not forgetting the need to feed body and soul, some of the gardens on show will be bursting with mature fruit trees and well-stocked veg patches, while others display sculpture made by the owner’s own hands. Whatever your gardening persuasion, you can’t fail to be impressed and inspired.
And if that isn’t enough, in a number of the gardens, you can enjoy a drink and a bite to eat, as well as live music and even a book reading. More details coming soon.
Histon & Impington Open Gardens, Sunday 9th June 2019, 12 noon-6pm https://www.facebook.com/HistonAndImpingtonOpenGardens/