COMMUNITY GARDENING
Launching its nationwide ‘Open for Good’ campaign, SGS is encouraging anyone with a passion for plants, whether a seasoned horticulturist or an enthusiastic amateur, to get involved by opening their garden to the public for one or more days, or joining forces with neighbours to create a garden trail in your village, street, or local area.
“Your garden can do good,” says SGS Chief Executive Liz Stewart. “It doesn’t need to be pristine or perfect, but it does have to be well loved and cared for. Every garden has a story, and by sharing yours, you can raise vital funds for charities and good causes across Scotland.”
Colin Crosbie, a passionate plantsman and seasoned garden opener with his wife Pamela since 2018 of their rural garden outside Dumfries says, “One of the reasons I love opening our garden for SGS is how it benefits charities. It’s so important to understand that it’s not just the charities that Scotland’s Gardens Scheme supports but every garden owner can choose their own charity. This year we are supporting the Loch Arthur Community.”
“When you’ve spent all those hours working in your garden, you want to share it with people, and I love sharing my garden. And if by doing that and having people coming in and enjoying it, it helps to raise money for charity, it’s just a wonderful win-win situation. You hear the hubbub of people asking questions about your garden and I just love it. Opening your garden to help other people: what could be better!”
Scotland’s Gardens Scheme supports the opening of gardens throughout Scotland to the public, raising funds for charity through garden gate tickets, plant sales, and teas. Most are privately owned and are normally inaccessible to the public at other times and each year, hundreds of private gardens take part in the SGS programme, with gardens of all shapes, sizes, and styles, as well as community and charity gardens, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities.
In 2024 alone, gardens across Scotland raised over £290,000 for charities and good causes. 60% of funds raised through SGS may go to a charity nominated by the garden opener, with the remaining 40% going to SGS charity and core charities, Perennial, Maggie’s, and the Queen’s Nurses.
And as well as inviting individual garden owners to join in, the charity also welcomes towns, villages, and neighbourhoods to get involved, with toolkits and support available for groups who want to organise a local Open Gardens Day.
A village in rural East Lothian does just that on their bi-annual Open Gardens Day with 9 neighbourhood gardens participating, raising over £4,500 to support both SGS charities and the local horticultural society.
“It brought the whole village together,” says organiser Roger Wilson, President of Gifford Horticultural Society. “We had visitors from all over the region and far beyond. People loved seeing what was behind the garden gates and enjoying the different styles that village gardens can offer. The funds raised will enable us to support a variety of good causes and projects in the village through the year, such as supporting our annual village show.”
Libby Webb opened her small, urban walled garden in Edinburgh for the first time in 2025 and chose to support CHAS and The Woodland Trust Scotland. "There is something uniquely wonderful about sharing your garden with others. I opened my little city garden for the first time this year with the brilliant and supportive Scottish Garden Scheme and was thrilled to share the joy of gardening with so many knowledgeable and interested people while raising much needed funds for amazing charities,” says Libby.
“It's a total win-win, if you love your garden, I highly recommend that you open it, as others will love it too. Take the plunge, you'll thank yourself".
Get involved to:
share the garden you love and inspire others
raise money for charities and good causes you care about
celebrate your local community and environment
meet like-minded people and be part of a friendly national network of open garden hosts, generous gardeners, and volunteers
You’ll receive advice and support from the SGS network of volunteers around Scotland and will:
be covered by Scotland’s Gardens Scheme insurance for garden openers
have your own listing in the famous SGS Yellow Book guide to gardens open for charity, national leaflet, and website
receive signage, posters, and materials for your open day
Whether it’s a courtyard in the city, a community allotment, a wildlife or walled garden, or a country estate, SGS believes every garden can offer something unique and has a story to tell.
And if you haven’t got a garden to open but would still like to get involved, there are lots of volunteering opportunities - Scotland’s Gardens Scheme is powered by volunteers and has been raising funds for charity through garden openings since 1931 - find more details on their website.
Visit the Scotland’s Garden Scheme website to find out more and register your expression of interest. Registrations for 2026 are now open.
You can follow Scotland’s Garden Scheme on Instagram at @ScotlandGardenScheme and Facebook at @ScotlandsGardens .
If you would like to see your community gardening group featured in a future edition of Scotland Grows magazine, please do get in touch to mail@scotlandgrowsmagazine.com - we would love to hear from you!