BETWEEN May and July members of the public will be able to visit some of the most impressive, well-tended and relaxing gardens in Surrey and Hampshire as part of Phyllis Tuckwell’s Open Gardens event.

Residents across the hospice’s catchment area of West Surrey and North East Hampshire will be opening their gardens to raise money to support the care which Phyllis Tuckwell offers patients and families who are living with an advanced or terminal illness, such as cancer - and the hospice will be joining in too.

Gardens of many different sizes and designs will be on display in Farnham, Rowledge, Tilford, Guildford, Ripley, Headley Down, Churt and Cranleigh.

For a small fee visitors are invited to wander round and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of each garden.

Maybe they will even take away a few ideas to try out on their own green spaces at home.

On July 14 Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice will be joining in itself, opening its own beautiful grounds to visitors.

Lovingly tended by the charity’s wonderful volunteers, the hospice garden mixes open green space with small, quiet areas.

Visitors can sit and enjoy the array of shrubs and flowers on display, admire the various sculptures and reflect on the Memory Tree.

The charity’s Memory Tree bears small metal leaves dedicated to loved ones who are no longer with us.

Many of the Open Garden locations are partly wheelchair-friendly and some welcome well-behaved dogs on leads.

Visitors can also buy refreshments at many of them, and some will be selling plants.

It follows the charity’s first plant sale of 2018, which was held on Easter Sunday at the hospice in Farnham.

Plant sales are held on the first Sunday of every month and offer visitors the chance to bag some bargains from April through to October.

Hundreds of plants were on sale, from flowers and vegetables, to trees.

Keep a look out for Phyllis Tuckwell’s Open Gardens brochure, which will be published soon, or visit www.pth.org.uk/open-gardens for more details.