If you thought the National Gardens Scheme was all about flowers, think again.

A group of allotment holders have opened their site, packed with some unusual fruit and vegetables as well as beehives and wildlife areas, for the scheme this week.

Woodlands Road Allotments, Gillingham has some 162 individual allotments on the site feature everything from topiary to espalier fruits and unusual fruit and vegetables, as well as floral and wildlife areas.

They'll be open for pre-booked visitors on Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26 between noon and 4pm, with access via a level concrete roadway. The friendly allotment holders will be on hand to chat and limited teas will be available with a chance to buy plants or produce.

At Doddington Place, Sittingbourne the 10-acre garden with its wide views, azaleas and rhododendrons plus a flint and brick 20th-century gothic folly, is open for pre-booked visitors this weekend on Sunday, July 26 between 10am and 5pm and again on Wednesday, July 29, also from 10am to 5pm. It is also open on selected days in August.

Parsonage Oasts, Yalding features a garden on the banks of the River Medway which covers three quarters of an acre, with walls, daffodils, crown imperials, shrubs and a spectacular magnolia. It will be open on Wednesday, July 29 between 11am and 5.30pm.

Hurst House, Ashford is an idyllic three acre garden surrounded by bluebell woods has winding beds, ponds, as well as unusual plants, acers and rhododendrons.

There's a woodland walk, a stumpery and sculptures in the woods inspired by the Lost Gardens of Heligan. It will be open on both Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26 between 11am and 5.30pm.

DETAILS

The National Gardens Scheme, which runs through to October, raises funds for nursing. Some sites have not opened this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, but those that are now are requesting pre-booked visits only. To book yours, at around £4 a head, and find a garden open near you, go to ngs.org.uk

For more days out ideas across Kent click here.