there is a chance to explore six beautiful gardens in Mary Tavy on Sunday in aid of St Luke’s Hospice in Plymouth.

This is the first time a gardens open day has been staged in the village for the local hospice charity.

Organiser Alison Boulter is opening her own Spanish-inspired garden at Greystones, which features a pool area inspired by a garden she and her husband fell in love with in Spain.

She said: ‘We go to Seville quite often and we saw a garden there which really inspired us. They had lots of petunias all the way around it and when we came back, we decided to create the garden. Some of the plants I couldn’t grow here, but the hard landscaping makes it look Spanish.’

Alison also gardens part-time at the Elephant’s Nest, a former pub turned B&B at Horndon, which is taking part in the garden trail.

Here, the roses are out, thanks to the last few weeks’ glorious sunshine. She was inspired to stage the event by similar events in aid of St Luke’s in Bere Ferrers and Gunnislake in the Tamar Valley. 

‘This is something I have always wanted to do and it’s a bonus to be supporting such a great cause,’ she said. ‘Most people just whizz through the village on their way to and from Tavistock, and have no idea there are such fabulous gardens tucked away behind the scenes.

‘Each of the gardens is lovely in its own way and all the owners are working hard to make sure they’ll be looking their very best for our visitors. What’s really nice is that by working together on this event we are all getting to know each other better, and we’re already talking about other projects we can get together for, like planting bulbs in the village.’

The trail begins at the village’s Coronation Hall parking area, where you can pay the £5 entry to take part in the trail, pay by cash or card and pick up a map. Each of the privately-owned gardens has its own distinctive qualities as well as talented and passionate owners who are happy to show people around and explain how they create and maintain them.

The event runs this Sunday, May 4 between 11am and 4pm. Entry is £5 to visit all six gardens, with no charge for children under 16. Light refreshments available at Greystones and the Elephant’s Nest. Only guide dogs are allowed in the gardens. Find out more at stlukes-hospice.org.uk/opengardens