Survey shows gardens are best place to relax

Aug 4 2009 The Journal

The National Trust’s director general Fiona Reynolds said: “In today’s fast-paced world, finding space and time to unwind and relax is becoming ever more crucial.

“Nowhere does this better than the quiet corner of a garden or a park that gives us the chance to breathe in our natural surroundings and refresh our weary spirit.”

She said she was “passionate” about the idea that everyone should have access to gardens and green spaces, and the National Trust had produced the report to highlight how important gardens were.

Some 12 million people visit the more than 200 gardens owned and cared for by the National Trust each year.

The Trust also works with the Gateway Gardens Trust which helps disadvantaged groups experience gardens and gardening, including inner-city children who get to plant, grow and harvest vegetables at National Trust gardens.

The Gateway Gardens Trust’s chairman Bettina Harden said that one refugee child had been so amazed by the beauty of the walled gardens at Dinefwr in Wales he “asked us whether he was in paradise”.

Nine out of the National Trust’s 10 most visited properties are gardens, with members of the public even turning out in the middle of winter to see sights such as snowdrops.

Visits to gardens which are open to the public generate some £300m in direct revenue and still more for local businesses and the economy each year.

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