Every Visit To One of Our Gardens Supports An Ill or Disabled Child or Young Person
A Brief History of Open Gardens/Jardins Ouverts
On 30 June 2013 the owners of four private gardens in the département of La Creuse opened their gardens to the public with the object of donating the money raised to charitable causes. This initiative was inspired partly from the work of the National Gardens Scheme in England, established in the late 1920s.
These openings raised 300€, most of which was donated to the association À Chacun Son Everest, which actively supports children and young people in remission from leukaemia and other forms of cancer. Further work was undertaken to increase the number of garden openings under the leadership of Mick Moat, one of the openers. This led to the setting up of the Association Open Gardens/Jardins Ouverts, with Mick Moat as its founding president.
The money raised from garden openings, donations and money-raising events grew substantially during the years 2014 to 2018, the movement spreading far beyond La Creuse. In 2016 16000€ was raised from 116 garden openings in 13 départements for 8 beneficiaries, and in 2018 25,500€ for 15 beneficiaries. The Association became more widely known through its garden openings and presence at national, local and regional plant fairs. A particular objective was to encourage more French garden owners to take part in the scheme.
In 2019 Mick Moat went to live in Scotland and Karen Roper was appointed President. 2020 saw the arrival of the Covid Pandemic and the conseil took the decision that no formal garden openings should take place. However, that year the Association was still able to make donations of 3000 euros to 7 beneficiaries. In March 2023 Richard Ogier took over as Acting President.
From August 2023, Sue Lambert became Acting President; and in February 2024 was subsequently appointed President. Sue and the conseil used this 10th Anniversary Year to encourage previous garden openers to get involved in celebrating and we were joined by 17 new gardens who opened on our behalf. We welcomed Jardin Lacore as our latest Partner Garden.
During 2024, other activities including an Afternoon Tea Event held at the Arboretum de la Sedelle and a Birthday Weekend celebration, helped us raise 22 000 euros to donate to 11 beneficiaries. Since our conception, a total of 176,550 euros has been donated to worthy causes throughout France.
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Thanks to our sponsors' generosity we are able to donate virtually all money raised to aid seriously ill children.
