Northamptonshire husband and wife raised more than £30k since opening their ‘beautiful’ private garden to the public for charity

Jean and Richard Wiseman, 72, have been sharing their one-acre garden and plant nursery with the community in Northamptonshire for nearly 30 years.

Once an empty field, the husband and wife turned Ravensthorpe Nursery into a "well-established garden" with large glass houses and a wide range of plants, surrounded by “beautiful views.”

Jean, 73, said: “All sorts of people open their gardens, from rolling acres to tiny little courtyard gardens (...) But if you think about it, most people don't have rolling acres. They have a little patch, and they want to make the most of it. And by going and looking at gardens like that, they get good ideas for their own garden.

“I do honestly think that it gives a lot of people a lot of solace because not everybody's as lucky as we are to have somewhere to get out into the open air and look at something beautiful. I'm sure it's therapy for a lot of people.”

The husband and wife relocated to Ravensthorpe in December 1985, where Richard, who is certified in horticulture, started developing a plant nursery from the ground up.

“We're very lucky because we're on the edge of the village, and Ravensthorpe is set quite high.

“It's got beautiful views all around,” said Jean.

It did not take them long to recognise that their clients would like to see how their plants acted in a garden environment and that they required additional mother plants from which to propagate.

Jean said: “The garden has sort of developed around what was the nursery.

“There's quite a lot we've planted, so it's now a really well-established garden with lots of trees, big shrubs, and all sorts of lovely things.”

After years of cultivating, propagating, and selling plants, in 1994, the husband and wife decided to open their three-acre garden to the public in support of NGS.

“We know how lucky we are to have this space, so we thought to share it,” said Jean.

Over the 23 years of opening their garden, the husband and wife raised £30,000 for the non-profit organisation.

“We're very proud to be able to do that.

“They're a lovely, lovely bunch of people to work with. They're very supportive,” said Jean.

Jean and Richard were able to dedicate more time to the garden after retiring and closing the nursery nearly three years ago. Since then, they have been growing plants on a much smaller scale for garden visitors to purchase.

“We do still grow because it's in our blood. That's what we do. That's our hobby. That's our life. That's what we love doing. But nothing like on the scale that we used to grow,” said Jean.

The Ravensthorpe Nursery is set to open to the public from 11am until 5pm between July 5 and 7 and September 6 and 8. Teas and cakes are planned to be served along with plants for sale. Children enter free of charge, while adult tickets cost £6.

“Whatever we do, we hope we can continue to share our little bit of paradise with our visitors,” said Jean.