Take a look inside five Burton gardens during Charity open day

Jun 25 2008 by Sue McCann, Birkenhead News

FIVE gardens in Burton are to throw open their gates to raise money for charity once again this year.

The event, part of the National Gardens Scheme, takes place on Sunday, June 29.

The garden at Briarfield provides a sheltered haven for a multitude of specialist plants. Visitors can wander through woodlands with a meandering stream leading to colourful herbaceous borders, through two stunning complementary alpine beds and finally to a modern blue garden.

At Briarfield House, a more intimate setting, there’s a chance to buy some of the exciting and unusual plants growing in the gardens.

The Thomas Mawson-designed Burton Manor garden is still more or less as he intended in 1906 with three geometric gardens on the east, south and north sides.

The east garden, reached through an ornamental stone gateway, is a sunken parterre. Taking afternoon tea on the terrace you look across the south garden, its yew hedges surrounding formal compartments on either side of a lily pool, to the fields beyond. The north is an elegant enclosure raised above the forecourt.

There will also be a plant sale there.

Pauline Wright has spent 35 years designing Lynwood’s spectacular half-acre garden overlooking the Dee estuary. From the sunken sandstone pond to the woodland area separated by clematis-clad trellis, this garden of differing herbaceous borders will delight with its colour and variety of planting. Again, there will be a plant sale.

New to the scheme is Maple House garden which has recently been converted from field grass to create an attractive year-round appearance with minimal maintenance.

The lawn, surrounded by mixed borders of shrubs, herbaceous plants and grasses leads to a wildlife area with pond which blends into the local countryside.

The fifth garden, Woodlea, is a garden in progress, developing welcoming spaces for both humans and wildlife.

There is free parking at Burton Manor, the school and village hall.

Teas can be bought in aid of Claire House.

The gardens will be open from 2-6pm. Admission is £4, children free.