VILLAGERS in the pretty Teesdale village of Romaldkirk have been opening their gardens to the public for charity for more than a quarter of a century now. It all started when villagers John and Sue Knights visited an NGS open garden in the region and met the county organiser. They returned to Romaldkirk full of enthusiasm and persuaded another three gardeners to join them for the first opening. Other green-fingered villagers have been recruited over the years.

Chris Lovett, who took over in 2012 as the NGS organiser for Romaldkirk, says there are a lot of keen gardeners in the village who are happy to invite other people to enjoy them for a very worthy cause. “I would like to say we keep them looking lovely all the time, but in reality, of course, we all work extra hard in the run-up to Open Gardens day,” she says.

Chris has lived in the village with husband Steve for 30 years. Their home, High Green House, sits in and acre-and-a-half of garden, split into two very distinct parts separated by a tall stone wall.

“The part that surrounds the house is a very traditional,” says Chris. “It has a lawn, herbaceous borders, shrubs, mature trees, a small pond, a terrace with urns and lavender beds, stone walls and gravel paths.” The other half of the garden is a wildflower area with trees and fruit trees, rhododendrons, privet and holly hedges.

The couple have been opening for the NGS for 16 years, finally persuaded by the Knights. “They had been asking us for many years, but we always seemed to be in the middle of renovating parts of the house and were using the area that is now a wildflower area as a builders’ yard,” says Chris. “It wasn’t a pretty sight, and certainly not for public consumption.”

Until six years ago, Chris worked full time and only had time to maintain the garden, rather than developing it. “I don’t consider myself to be green-fingered,” she says. “I have wasted a lot of money purchasing plants that simply will not grow at this altitude where we can get very severe, very late, damaging frosts and cruel East winds. Gardening has been a steep and expensive learning curve.”

Chris loves the first big spring clear-up, though, and has the garden looking spick and span by end of April. “From then, it’s a constant battle to keep the weeds at bay. Tedious, but it has to be done.”

Husband Steve is a reluctant gardener. “Although, since he retired two years ago, he is doing a lot more to help, for which I am extremely grateful,” says Chris. “He has also lost two stones in weight and has come to realise that gardening is good exercise and helps keep you fit.” The only professional help the couple have is two days a year when two people come to prune the fruit trees and help put the garden to bed for the winter.

The garden was already well kept when the Lovetts bought the house, but they have made quite a few changes – putting in a path which winds through the herbaceous border; removing a huge, time-consuming privet hedge and replacing it with a stone wall, which is now covered in roses; and selling an underused greenhouse and replacing with a stone-flagged terrace which comes into its own in the summer months.

There was a large allotment, which has since been turned into a wildflower area. “Steve dutifully prepared the land and planted it with rows and rows of veg the first year we moved here,” says Chris. “Overnight the rabbits had a feast and Steve found dozens of rows of little bare stumps the next morning. That was the end of the veg allotment.”

Chris spent a considerable amount of money on wildflower seed – “all to no avail” – but finally, left to take its natural course, the number of species of flowers in this patch is increasing every year. She also came late to composting, but after constant nagging from a fellow gardener who pointed out that it would save her tip runs and improve soil quality, she now has four huge compost bays hidden behind holly and privet hedges.

One year, Chris decided to record the number of hours she worked in the garden. “When I got to 400 – and that was just the summer months – I stopped counting as it was becoming frightening,” she laughs. But the upside is the sense of calm being amid the trees and flowers brings. “When I worked full-time as a teacher, I often used to come home needing to de-stress. A walk around the garden with a glass of something always hit the spot,” she says.

Her favourite flowers are delphiniums – “I love their height, variety of colours and elegance” – and the English country garden roses that clamber over the South-facing stone wall.

And 30 years after moving into High Green House, she is still full of praise for Romaldkirk. “It is a beautiful village, quintessentially English. I was brought up in Barningham, just a few miles away, and spent a lot of time in Romaldkirk in my teenage years. It is the village I have always wanted to live in, and it is the house I have always wanted to live in, so I consider myself to be a very lucky lady.”

Jacqueline Jackson lives at Riga Lodge with her husband Ian, their dog, two cats, two donkeys named Parkin and Wilfred and several hens. “Two of the latter regularly escape into the garden and help keep down the slug population,” says this enthusiastic gardener.

Originally some of the village gardens were opened on the morning of Romaldkirk Fair in August and a lady who had visited recommended Jacqueline’s garden to the NGS organiser. “Like most people, you don’t think your garden is wonderful, but I said that I would open if others in Romaldkirk would also take part,” she says.

The Jacksons have lived at Riga Lodge, which is tucked away in a corner of the village, for 22 years. The garden is large with a series of 'rooms', two ponds, a vegetable plot, a knot garden, an orchard, a sunken garden and a grotto. It is a mixture of styles, with several herbaceous borders.

As a gardener, Jacqueline describes herself as a keen amateur. She takes an interest in gardening programmes and attends University of the Third Age garden lectures. “I could possibly be described as green-fingered as I do manage to propagate plants,” she says. “My husband and I do all the work in the garden – we don’t have any other help – and although I don’t mind weeding and find it quite therapeutic, I do find buttercups a nightmare.”

The garden, originally a field, was created from scratch by the couple. Before retirement, weekends were spent gardening. Now with more leisure time, they spend hours there. Naturally, before Open Days, much more time is spent preparing for visitors.

“I love finding quirky things, such as old machinery, and finding the perfect spot for them,” says Jacqueline. “We have bird boxes and feeders throughout the garden to encourage wildlife, the ponds have fish, and the water encourages toads and other animals,” says Jacqueline. “We make a point of composting and use all the resulting soil. We grow vegetables for the table and pick the fruit in the orchard. Last year was a good year for apples. My son collected the crop and cider is in production as we speak.”

Jacqueline particularly loves the early months of the year, when everything is bursting out all over. “I love spring flowers. Everything looks so fresh and the colours after the winter are magical,” she says. Another pleasure is to be able to sit and read and watch the grandchildren playing. “I look around at the scenery and realise how lucky we are to live in such an idyllic village with sociable neighbours.”

Plus that stunning garden, of course…

PANEL

ROMALDKIRK

The fine old Church of St Romald has been known for centuries as the Cathedral of the Dales. It’s a Grade 1 listed building containing surviving sections of Anglo-Saxon walls and a stone tomb effigy of Hugh Fitz Henry, who died on a campaign with Edward I in 1305.

To the left of the church, and dating back to 1733, is the multi-award winning inn, the Rose & Crown, the perfect place to settle in for a pint and some excellent food after a romp across the rolling green fields that surround Romaldkirk. The village also has a set of stocks, a water pump and cobbles to the front of the Rose & Crown that are inlaid with the dates 1837-1867 to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria.

ROMALDKIRK OPEN GARDENS

Teesdale, DL12 9DZ

Sunday 26 June (2-5.30pm). Combined admission £4, children free. Home-made teas in The Reading Room, opposite the Rose and Crown.

W: ngs.org.uk

Photography: STUART BOULTON

Arguably the most idyllic little village in glorious Teesdale, Romaldkirk has pretty greens, old stone cottages, a beautiful old church and two pubs. And in late June each year, there’s an added attraction, when nine gardens in the village open for charity under the National Gardens Scheme. Jenny Needham talks to two of the gardeners taking part