Monthly Report
SNITTERFIELD GARDEN CLUB 1st APRIL 2025 MEETING
This month we welcomed David Edwards who talked about the “History of the National Gardens Scheme (NGS)”. David says that he has fond memories of being shown by his Grandpa, how to graft apples, eating huge Hamburg grapes that were growing in his lean-to greenhouse and watching him misting plants with one of those old-fashioned brass sprayers. Since then, he has always been interested in gardening.
Now retired he has more time to tame his own garden and they open it for the National Garden Scheme, and are both Assistant County Organisers for the Oxfordshire NGS.
William Rathbone
It all started with in 1859 when William Rathbone, merchant, philanthropist and a later an MP, employed Mary Robinson to nurse his wife at home during her final illness. Rathbone realised the value of this but was aware that most people could not afford such a service. He later wrote:
"…it occurred to me to engage Mrs. Robinson, her nurse, to go into one of the poorest districts of Liverpool and try, in nursing the poor, to relieve suffering and to teach them the rules of health and comfort."
After his wife’s death he kept Mary on and she went round Liverpool helping the sick. After only a few weeks this became so popular they could not cope with the demand. Rathbone contacted Florence Nightingale and she suggested that there was a need for nursing colleges to train more nurses. This was set up, first in Liverpool, then in other locations around the country. This provided training for nurses and from this District Nursing was founded. However, this needed money (there was no NHS then in the early 1920s).
At a Queens Nursing Council (QNI) meeting in 1926, council member Miss Elsie Wagg came up with the idea of raising money for district nursing through the nation's obsession with gardening. So, in 1927, the National Gardens Scheme was born and the first gardens were opened charging 1 shilling a head.
The scheme gained popularity quickly, with over 600 gardens opening and raising over £8,000 in its first year. Throughout the 1930s the number of gardens participating grew, reaching 900 by 1930, and famous garden owners like Sir Winston Churchill and Vita Sackville-West joined the scheme.
In 1932 the first National Garden Scheme guide was published, detailing 1,079 gardens open for charity. The guide turned yellow in 1949 and today is often referred to as “The Yellow Book”.
The “Yellow book” of today
After the Second World war the NHS and local authorities took on home nursing, but the National Garden Scheme continued to raise funds for the QNI, particularly for retired nurses and training. In 1980 the NGS became an independent charity expanding to support a wider range of nursing and health charities, community gardens, and other causes.
Today the NGS continues to raise millions of pounds annually for nursing and health charities, supporting community gardening projects and training gardeners. It has many famous supporters, such as King Charles (when Prince of Wales), and Mary Berry who is the current President.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday 6th May 2025 in Snitterfield Village Hall when we have Vanessa Berridge talking about “The three women who shaped Kiftsgate”. This will be our last “indoor” meeting before the summer break. Old friends and guests plus new members are always welcome. The full list of speakers and garden visits for 2024 -2025 is posted on our web site:
www.snitterfieldgardenclub.org
Jean Harris
Chairman