Cerne Abbas Gardens

Over a weekend in mid-June several Cerne Abbas residents open their gardens for the public to enjoy. The 25 or so gardens on show exhibit a diverse range of styles – from sculpted and very formal through to deliberate recreations of wilderness – each small plot of land revealing in a subtle way some of the personal traits of the owner. A rare chance to glimpse some of the treasures that lie behind the high walls and hedges of a small Dorset village, and to enjoy the English cottage garden at its best.

The pictures show just a select few of the elements that together make the English garden – small parcels of land stuffed with a multitude of plants, comfortable chairs, delphiniums and roses, plant pots and potting sheds, dibbers and trugs, and everyone stoically enjoying cream teas in the drizzle – well, it was supposed to be summer!

The gardens in Cerne Abbas were open to raise funds for the village hall and a local hospice, and will be open again on 21st and 22nd June 2003. Other gardens across the county are opened on selected days throughout the year as part of the National Gardens Scheme.