Sheffield garden opens to celebrate 90th anniversary of creators' marriage

On Saturday July 28, Dave Darwent, owner of number 12 Ansell Road in Ecclesall, will open his garden exactly 90 years to the day since his grandparents married and moved into their new house.

Purchased by Frank and Beatrice Dyson in 1928, the newly-marrieds spent their wedding night in the house built the previous year by J.A. Belton on a farmer’s field. Ninety years on, their grandson Dave will open the restored 1930’s garden under the National Gardens Scheme and intends to give the day a few celebratory touches.

“I’ve known the garden in Ansell Road all my life, and my mother can recall what it looked like through the war years and into the Swinging Sixties,” says Dave.

“When I moved here in 1986 my parents helped me with a few small projects in what I still call Grandma’s garden. That experience fuelled my love for gardening and I have opened under the National Garden Scheme since 2010.”

Visitors over the celebratory weekend can enjoy homemade traditional afternoon teas as well as a map, trail and photographic display of the garden’s development from 1929 to the present.

Maintained in the original style, the planting includes rambling and climbing roses, a Wisteria tunnel, herbaceous border, planters and hanging baskets as well as several small water-features. The aim is to keep the garden as a living example of how homeowners of the interwar years would cultivate an ornamental garden which still yielded edible produce in the small suburban space available to them.

In 2017, Dave published ‘Grandma’s Garden’ a fascinating and heartfelt insight into this unique piece of Sheffield suburban history. Being a keen baker, Dave has interlaced the chapters with favourite cake recipes. Several are taken from his Grandmother’s original Be-Ro book, and others are his own or his Grandmother’s invention, and still served-up at open days.

He says: “I’m looking forward to marking this special anniversary in the best way I know; a garden full of visitors enjoying tea and cake. My grandparents laid the foundations of a garden I love to share with others. A great way to remember their legacy and raise funds for a great charity too.”

The National Garden Scheme invites garden owners to open up their gardens to the public for various good causes, offering people unique access to some of Britain's most beautiful and memorable gardens.

Families can also visit 90 Bents Road in Sheffield, which will showcase colourful tropical plants with mixed borders surrounding a lawn, which leads to mature trees under planted with shade-loving plants at end of garden.

Further Gardens will be open throughtout the year, with Fernleigh on Meadowhead Avenue open in August and Renishaw Hall and Gardens opening for visitors in September.

For more information visit the National Garden Scheme website.