The 27th April to 3rd May 2026 is National Gardening Week. And it invites us all to embrace curiosity in our gardens; to slow down, to look more closely and find out about “the small wonders that bring outdoor spaces to life, as the RHS says”.
It’s amazing what I find in the nooks and crannies of our garden – I always feel very excited about it! And getting excited and discovering more about our garden spaces, however large or small they are, is a great way to strengthen our connection with these areas.
What are different ways we can celebrate National Gardening Week?
Here are 5 ways to celebrate our gardens!
Who are we sharing them with?
Sir David Attenborough’s new Secret Garden shows we are probably all sharing our garden spaces with far more creatures than we think. Who are you sharing your garden with? Watching for wildlife who are coming to visit can lead us to ask, what more can we do to encourage more wildlife and help them? Having a water feature – however big or small – is a great way to entice wildlife! Why not take part in the National Garden Scheme’s Big British Garden Survey and help them map the biodiversity in gardens across Britain?
The RSPB has this Garden birds identifier chart for £4.50
Who can you see in your garden?
Enjoy just being in your garden
I love walking round ours. It’s not very big, and needs a lot of work; I want to get planting and put lots of colourful and wildlife friendly flowers and plants in it. But I love peering round the corner to see if anyone is visiting; to look out of the window and watch the birds taking a bath or tucking in to our feeders, and examining our small garden pond for signs of life. Take time to sit and watch, sit and listen; enjoy the sun’s warmth.
Do some nature journalling!
I found a great site by John Muir Laws which tells you all about nature journalling. It’s a great way to really sharpen your observations of things in your garden, be they wildlife or plants and flowers. Why not do some drawing or painting? Keep a journal of what your garden means to you, take photos of it throughout a year or photograph things really up close, such as a patch of grass and then see what you can see in it and draw.
This is the RSPB Lodge nest box classic apex for £26.00
Celebrate those inspiring people who spread the love of gardens and gardening! Be one of them! Spread the word!
There are many gardening charities doing amazing work to help people learn more about it, and also help people get into gardening who may not otherwise be able to do any. Thrive for instance, the RHS campaigns such as their Campaign for School Gardening and community gardening. Thrive use gardening “to bring about positive changes in the lives of people living with disabilities or ill health, or who are isolated, disadvantaged or vulnerable”.
Discover more about gardening.
Did you know that the RHS has an RHS Grow app? You can use it to identify plants and keep track of what you’re growing – and get tips to help care for them. But the RHS has LOTS of information on its website, e.g. planting ideas for small spaces, beginner’s guide to gardening, five ways to help birds in every season, plants for pollinators, how to make a wildlife pond etc. Take some time this week to have a good dig around their website. They have lots of courses and workshops which may be of interest too! What other things can you put in your garden to add interest, colour, sound and scent? Plus, what should you be doing this month? Check out the RHS tips on what to do in April.
Find out how you can make a difference to biodiversity & climate change.
Sir David Attenborough’s programme Secret Garden on BBC1 shows that there is a great deal we can all do to have an impact. There are 41 million gardeners in the UK – and the RHS says we are “at the frontline in protecting biodiversity and fighting climate change”.
Whatever you do, just enjoy your garden and use your five senses to make the most of it: sight to enjoy the beauty of it, hearing to listen to bees humming and birds singing; smell to enjoy the various scents; touch to feel the different textures (may be not stinging nettles!), and feel – how does being in your garden make you feel? Happy? Contented? Relaxed?
Enjoy visiting other gardens
This is a great way to enjoy the fruits of labour of other people, and just relax and take a stroll round gardens you may not have visited before. I love visiting gardens at different times during the year, taking in the different sights, sounds and light. If I’m travelling somewhere, I make a point of stopping at gardens en route. It’s lovely to get chatting with fellow garden lovers as we gaze in awe at the beautiful sights before us. And of course to stop at the café, if there is one, to tuck in after gentle exercise. It’s a great way to get ideas for your own garden. I like to come home and make notes of what I’ve seen that I particularly liked to see if I might just be able to put them in somewhere in my garden.
Why not visit gardens and be inspired there?
Virgin Experience Days has some great experiences at Kew Gardens
See what they've got here.
The National Garden Scheme has been funding nursing and health charities since 1927, and it offers a wonderful way to explore lots of diffent public and private gardens. The RHS has five gardens to explore – Wisley (Surrey), Rosemoor (Devon), Bridgewater (Greater Manchester), Harlow Carr (North Yorkshire) and Hyde Hall (Essex). But it also has over 240 partner gardens across the UK and overseas – there’s free entry for RHS Members at selected times* during the year. And don't forget their Flower Shows! There are new ones this year at Badminton and Sandringham (find out about those here.) You can become a member or give a gift membership to the RHS here.
Happy National Gardening Week!!
