National Garden Scheme

What National Garden Scheme does

The National Garden Scheme (NGS) is a UK-registered charity founded in 1927 that opens more than 3,300 private gardens across England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man to paying visitors, with the proceeds donated to nursing and health charities. Garden owners voluntarily open their gardens on scheduled dates, 500+ volunteer county organisers coordinate logistics, and visitors pay an admission fee (with a card or an annual NGS Garden Visitor's Handbook) that is channelled to beneficiary organisations including Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK, Parkinson's UK, Mind, and the Queen's Nursing Institute. The scheme is headquartered at Hatchlands Park in Guildford, Surrey, and is structured as a company limited by guarantee.

The platform is built around a centralised website featuring a Find a Garden search tool, OLGA (Online Garden Application) software that volunteers use to manage garden submissions and listings, e-tickets and e-newsletters, and a mobile app that supports visitor trip planning. Content is further distributed through 50+ county-level Facebook pages, a printed Garden Visitor's Handbook, and curated thematic collections.

Commercially, NGS generated a record £3,875,596 in donations in the 2025 season and has cumulatively donated more than £76 million since 1927. The financial model is donor-funded through garden admissions, handbook sales, plant sales, donations, and legacy gifts, with a core sponsorship from Rathbones (Investec) and partnerships with beneficiary charities embedded in the disbursement chain. The published 2026–2030 Strategic Plan sets growth targets of 5,000 gardens and 2 million visitor engagements.

Name

National Garden Scheme

Legal name

National Garden Scheme

Website

https://ngs.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The National Garden Scheme is a UK charity founded in 1927 that opens 3,300+ private gardens to paying visitors, channelling admission income to nursing and health charities including Macmillan, Marie Curie and Hospice UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Garden Visits

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

Keywords

• Charitable garden visits
• Private garden openings
• Nursing charity fundraising
• Garden visitor directory
• Health charity donations

Headquarters

HQ city

Guildford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Garden Admission Fees: Visitors pay admission fees to enter private gardens. These funds, along with proceeds from teas and cakes, are donated to beneficiary nursing and health charities.
2. Garden Visitor's Handbook Sales: Sale of annual handbook featuring all participating gardens. Revenue supports the scheme's charitable activities.
3. Online Talks and Events: Virtual garden tours and online events sold through the shop. Additional revenue stream for charitable donations.
4. Donations: Direct donations from supporters, garden party fundraising events, and corporate matched funding arrangements.
5. Brand Licensing: Brand licensing opportunities offered to businesses for use of National Garden Scheme branding on products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The National Garden Scheme opens over 3,300 privately-owned gardens across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands to paying visitors, with admission fees, refreshments and donations channelled to nursing and health charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK and Carers Trust. The scheme is operated by the charity (a company limited by guarantee) using a website, mobile app and the OLGA garden-owner portal to publish the annual garden directory and process bookings.

Product overview

The National Garden Scheme is a charitable organization that has been funding nursing and health charities since 1927 by opening private gardens to the public. The core product offering is a garden discovery and booking platform centered around Find a Garden (online portal for discovering open gardens) and the Garden Visitor's Handbook (annual guidebook to 3,300+ gardens). The National Garden Scheme App provides mobile access to garden discovery. Virtual Garden Visits enable remote experiences. Supporting products include Online Talks and Events, Special Garden Events, By Arrangement Gardens, and Pop-Up Openings. Garden owners use the Online Garden Administration (OLGA) system for registration and management. The Online Shop sells merchandise including the Handbook and books. Charitable engagement is facilitated through donations via JustGiving, the Great British Garden Party fundraising initiative, and Community Garden Grants. The Gardens & Health Program documents therapeutic benefits. Scotland's Gardens Scheme operates as an integrated affiliate program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Find a Garden: The organization's garden finder tool and platform for locating gardens open to the public
• NGS

Products and services

• Garden Visitor's Handbook Annual printed publication listing NGS gardens with descriptions, opening times and visitor information, sold via the online shop and used by visitors planning garden visits across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands.
• National Garden Scheme Mobile App Free mobile application (iOS/Android) providing a searchable directory of NGS gardens with location and opening information, used by individual visitors to find gardens to visit.
• Online Garden Directory Searchable online directory of 3,300+ NGS gardens hosted on the NGS website, providing location, opening details and visitor information to the UK public.
• Virtual Garden Visits Paid online streaming experiences allowing visitors to view NGS gardens remotely, used by individuals who cannot attend physical garden openings.
• Online Talks and Events Paid online talks, lectures and special events held on the NGS online platform, designed for visitors interested in gardening, horticulture and NGS beneficiary charity topics.
• Special Garden Events and Group Bookings Bookable group and special-event visits to NGS gardens (including by-arrangement openings), offered to groups, clubs and organisations for bespoke garden experiences outside standard public opening dates.
• NGS Online Shop E-commerce shop on the NGS website selling NGS publications (such as the Garden Visitor's Handbook), branded merchandise and related products, available to the general public.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £76 million donated to nursing and health charities since 1927
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on The Big British Garden Survey - a citizen science project with UKCEH, a world-leading independent research institute and leader in community science research, to document wildlife in UK gardens.
• Gardens & Health BeneficiariescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with gardening sector charities including Supporting Gardeners programme providing £320,000 in grants to community gardens and horticultural therapy programmes.
• JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services LtdminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFulfilment company used to dispatch shop orders. Personal information stored on website, CRM database (Microsoft Dynamics) and email marketing systems (Mailchimp and Dotdigital).
• Plant MCRminorGTM or Marketing PartnerManchester-based organisation that hosted a Great British Garden Party fundraiser, raising £606 for the scheme. Their apprentice gardener received a grant from the scheme for retraining as a gardener through WFGA.
• Soil Squad CICminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity interest company focused on regenerative composting practices. Supported by St Albans District Council's Greener Together Net Zero funding. Diverted 2.5 tonnes of food waste in 2025, creating compost for community gardens.
• Little Gate FarmminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity supporting autistic and learning-disabled adults. Cut flower garden opens through the scheme, with flowers sold through local businesses and plant fairs at Great Dixter and Alexandra Glasshouse in Hastings.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Trust: UK heritage charity managing historic houses, gardens, and estates open to the public with paid admissions and membership. Comparable in operating public garden access at scale, though focuses on preserved heritage assets rather than private owner network.
• Royal Horticultural Society: The UK's leading gardening charity operating RHS gardens (Wisley, Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, etc.) and Chelsea Flower Show. Overlaps with NGS on garden visitation and horticulture mission but operates permanent collections rather than private garden network.
• Historic Royal Palaces: UK charity operating unoccupied royal palaces and their gardens with paid admissions and memberships. Comparable visitor attraction model with charitable mission, though focused on palaces rather than garden-centric experiences.
• English Heritage: UK heritage charity operating historic properties and gardens with paid admissions and membership. Comparable visitor attraction and charitable operating model, though focused on built heritage rather than horticultural gardens.

Emerging players

• Garden Organic: UK organic gardening charity operating Ryton Gardens and promoting sustainable horticulture. Comparable as a UK gardening charity with educational mission, though focused on organic growing rather than private garden visitation.
• Garden Museum: UK museum dedicated to the history and design of gardens. Comparable in promoting garden heritage and education, though operates as a museum rather than facilitating active garden visits.
• Perennial: UK charity supporting people in horticulture with welfare services and grants. Comparable as a UK horticulture-focused charitable organisation, though serves the horticultural trade rather than facilitating garden visits.

Direct peers

• Scotland's Gardens Scheme: The Scottish counterpart organisation operating private garden openings to raise funds for charity, directly comparable as it operates the same model in Scotland and is explicitly integrated with NGS as an affiliate programme.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World-leading public botanic garden with paid admissions, memberships, and plant conservation programmes. Comparable to NGS as a UK public garden visitation destination with charitable mission, though Kew maintains a permanent curated plant collection.

Regional players

• Yellow Book Open Gardens Australia: Australian private garden opening scheme comparable in operating model (volunteer-led private garden visits raising funds for charity), but operates in a different geography and serves as an international peer for the open-garden charity concept.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LondonNGS
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLtLfa9YCRiXgHc6CCoDSsQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalGardenScheme
• Instagraminstagram.com/nationalgardenscheme

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Garden Scheme