One of the benefits of garden visiting is that you can enjoy the pleasures of pristine borders and picturesque shrubbery without having to do the hard work yourself.

The National Garden Scheme (NGS) has been raising money for charity since 1927 via the opening of gardens, large and small, to the public.

The gardens range from the grandiose and extensive, such as those attached to stately homes, down to those adorning modest suburban homes. There are even a few allotments to study.

But whatever their size or type, the one vital criterion to be met is that they are interesting enough to entertain visitors for up to 40 minutes.

A garden that fits that bill is the one at Longer End Cottage, in Normandy, which has been owned by Ann and John McIlwham for 32 years.

Covering one and a half acres, it is divided into a number of ‘rooms’ each with a different theme.

The couple have been opening their garden for many years and they have already had one successful day this year, in June.

The next time they will show the garden off is on Sunday August 17, with Sunday September 7 being the final open day for 2008.

However, anyone unable to make those days can phone for a private appointment and the couple can accommodate groups as large as 15 people.

The open days are always popular and John explained that the date in June attracted around 180 people.

“Luckily, they didn’t all turn up at once,” he said.

“How many people come partly depends on the weather, but you still get a few even when it’s pouring. Last year, the August open day had 220 visitors.

“The garden is open from 1pm until 6pm, but most people turn up between 2.30pm and 4.30pm.”
But it’s not just to enjoy the the garden that people flock to Longer End Cottage, it’s also for the home-made teas.

Ann used to be a professional caterer, so she fails to be daunted by the prospect of feeding a couple of hundred people.

She effortlessly rustles up carrot cake, lemon drizzle cake, chocolate fudge cake and strawberry meringues to serve with cold drinks, tea and coffee, although John insists that the open days are, in reality, a lot of hard work.

As with other gardens in the scheme, the entrance fees will go to the NGS to support its chosen charities, but this year the proceeds of the teas at Longer End Cottage will be donated to St Mark’s Church, Wyke, to support the local community.

The 450-year-old house is set in the middle of the plot so the garden runs around it. Visitors can tour progressively from room to room.

Keeping each section at its best is quite some task, which Ann and John mainly carry out themselves.

“We have help on a couple of days a week, and it’s not enough really,” said John. “But we enjoy it and, in fact, I actually prefer working in the garden to sitting in it.

“Sometimes in the summer, we are out working at 5.30am. The garden is really at its best in the early morning and again in the late evening.

“At these times of day, there’s more wildlife about and you can really smell the aromas of the herbs and, of course, the flowers, particularly the roses and lilies.”

Considering the garden contains more than 35 types of rose, this aroma must be quite something when they are all blooming.

“We try to have plenty of colour in the garden, and Ann, who has a City and Guilds qualification in gardening from Merrist Wood College, is particularly good at working out colour schemes,” said John.

“She’s the head gardener really and is always coming up with new ideas.

"We believe that a garden should evolve and not stand still, so although we occasionally take things out and start again, more often than not we are adding. For example, we put in about 50 or 60 new roses a couple of years ago. ”

Other interesting features, include a meadow with a variety of wild flowers, including vetch and wild carrot. There is also a laburnum walk, which looks spectacular in May and, as one might expect on the sandy soil of the area, rhododendrons and heather do well.

John continued: “We are on the edge of the common and the sandy soil is very light, so we find we have to add bulk to it with manure and compost.

“Also, lack of water retention can be a problem, in contrast to the inadequate drainage found in heavier, clay soils. In 2006, when there was a hosepipe ban, we had to water everything by hand, which was quite a monumental task.”

The rooms are divided by yew and holly hedges so each one is self-contained.

The garden even boasts a folly and something called a stumpery, which is an imaginative way of using a dark section that ordinarily would not be an ideal growing area.

“The stumpery has tree stumps, along with ferns and helibores, so it is actually quite interesting,” said John. “Prince Charles has one at Highgrove.”

The ‘jungle’ has banana trees (without bananas) and tree ferns, as well as a pond with a bridge. But John’s personal favourite section is the knot garden, partly because a lot of hard work went into creating it.

“The knot garden features box hedging, and when I planted it nine years ago, I put in about 800 plants,” said John.

“We were fortunate to have the help of Rosemary Verey, a well-known garden designer who has done work for people like Prince Charles and Elton John.

“She became a close personal friend and she helped with the design and made plans drawn to scale so we could get it on the ground.”

When John hears the favourable comments made by visitors, he knows that all his hard work has been worthwhile.

“The mundane jobs like weeding are the least satisfying aspects of a garden like this, but it is so rewarding when people enjoy and appreciate what we have done,” he continued.

“And the challenge of the changing weather each year also keeps things interesting.”

The couple’s achievement has not gone unnoticed in the national — and indeed the international — media.

The garden has been featured in the Good Gardening Guide, Homes and Garden and The English Gardens magazines, as well as several foreign titles. It also appears in this year’s The English Garden/NGS calendar.

Longer End Cottage is in Normandy Common Lane, Normandy. To book a visit, call 01483 811858. For details on the NGS, call 01483 211535 or visit www.ngs.org.uk.