WildNet - Tom Marshall
How to host your Wilder Open Garden
Get your packHow to host your Wilder Open Garden
Tea, cake and WILDER Open Gardens to raise funds for wildlife.
Your Wilder Open Garden will inspire your friends, family, neighbours and local community to garden for wildlife too, whilst raising vital funds to protect our wildlife and wild places here in Somerset.
The first thing to do is to download your Wilder Open Garden Pack. We’ve picked the brains of our Wilder Open Garden hosts for their tips, tricks and ideas on how to make the most out your Wilder open day whilst having fun too. It provides everything you need to host your Wilder Open Garden.
- Register for your Wilder Open Gardens Pack >
- Choose a date,
- Set up your Wilder Open Gardens fundraising page >
- Invite your friends, family and neighbours using our template invitation >
- If you want to raise more funds, use our template poster to promote your event locally,
- Browse our tips and idea below,
- Time to put the kettle on! Enjoy your day, share your favourite wildlife gardening tips and tuck into some scrumptious cake.
- Transfer the funds you’ve raised to help us protect our wildlife and wild places.
Please make sure to check the latest Government guidance on social distancing on the lead up to hosting your event.
Tips and ideas for your Wilder Open Garden
Some of our hosts open their wildlife gardens year after year to inspire others to garden for wildlife whilst raising funds to protect our wildlife and wild places.
Here are some of their top tips and fundraising ideas to help you raise as much as you can, and inspire as many people as possible, whilst having fun at the same time.
Jon Hawkins - Surrey Hills Photography
Sharing your wildlife gardening tips
Top tips from Wilder Open Garden hosts:
- A board, poster or information sheet showing the current plants, features of interest and recent wildlife sightings
- Signs around the garden noting key wildlife friendly features.
- Print out some of our "how to guides" to share with your guests.
Put the kettle on!
Everyone loves a cuppa and cake, especially when it's for a cause.
Ask friends, family, local groups and businesses if they could donate cakes for your fundraiser. Supermarkets often donate things like clotted cream and jam. Or, freeze some homemade cakes ahead of your event. Contact your local church or village hall who may lend you a hot water urn and crockery.
We recommend the following minimum donations:
- Tea and biscuits £1.50
- Tea and cake £3
- Cream tea £3.50
Top tip: have some biodegradable takeaway containers available so you can sell left over cake towards the end of your day.
Host a plant stall
About a third of funds raised from Wilder Open Gardens come from plant stalls. Selling plants is a fantastic way to attract guests to your garden and boost the funds you raise.
Some hosts sell plants and cuttings from their own gardens and from those donated by friends and neighbours, other hosts write to their local garden centres and nurseries who often donate plants.
For larger events, sometimes garden centres might prefer to hold their own stall at your event. In which case, please ask them to donate either a percentage of sales or a minimum of £20. Stallholders ran by a business must hold their own public and product liability insurance.
Donations at the gate
Wilder Open Garden hosts generally suggest a minimum donation of £4. Feel free to suggest more or less depending on the size of your garden - perhaps £3 for smaller gardens or £5 for larger gardens, and free entry for accompanied children. It's important to remember this is a fundraiser to protect wildlife in Somerset.
It's helpful to find a willing volunteer to collect donations at the gate, and to record the number of people attending. Sometimes change is required so a float is useful.
For those who no longer carry cash - it is useful to set up your own online fundraising page. It is all templated and only takes a couple of clicks to set it up. Go to www.justgiving.com/campaign/WilderOpenGardens and click "Fundraise for us". You can then share your own unique Just Giving fundraising page web address with your guests so they can donate online.