PEOPLE looking for a peaceful way to spend a few hours this weekend are invited to catch the end of Phyllis Tuckwell’s open gardens.

The event has seen many local gardens open their doors to visitors throughout May and June, with the last few on show in July.

The beautiful gardens of Monksfield House will be open to the public on Saturday, July 14, allowing visitors to wander around this impressive ten-and-a half-acre space which boasts a mixture of flowers, shrubs, lawn and woodland.

The hospice gardens will also be open on the same day, so you can pop in on your way back from Monksfield and see the grounds which are lovingly tended by Phyllis Tuckwell’s volunteer gardeners, some of whom will also be there on the day to meet and chat to.

The hospice’s gardens are bursting with an array of colourful shrubs and flowers, dotted with garden sculptures and interspersed with small, peaceful areas where visitors can sit and take in the relaxing surroundings.

Visitors can also see the charity’s special Memory Tree, a metal sculpture from which hang delicate leaves, each engraved with the name of a loved one who has died.

Tea, coffee and cakes will also be available, which you can enjoy whilem wandering around the gardens or sitting on the patio area.

And the following day will see the six gardens of Sampsons Cottages in Farnham open to the public, while the last of the gardens, in Hurtmore Chase, Godalming, will be open on Sunday, July 22.

Entry for Monksfield and the hospice are £5 each or £8 for both, while Sampsons Cottages and Hurtmore Chase are £4 each with children admitted for free. Tea and coffee are available at all four sites.

All of the money raised will go towards funding the supportive and end-of-life care which Phyllis Tuckwell provides for local patients and families who are living with an advanced or terminal illness, such as cancer.

Every day it supports over 250 patients, relatives and carers - in their own homes, in the community, at the Hospice in Farnham and at the Beacon Centre in Guildford – but as the NHS/Government only covers 20 per cent of its costs, it has to raise over £20,000 a day to do this.

To find out more about Phyllis Tuckwell’s open gardens event and browse through a brochure, visit www.pth.org.uk/open-gardens.