Oh I do like to be beside the seaside! Drop into Driftwood this weekend - a Sussex garden with heart open for NGS

Driftwood is one of two Seaford gardens opening its doors for the NGS in Sussex this weekend and is well worth making the effort to see if you like to be beside the sea. This glorious postage stamp garden is a riot of colour right on the coast and you'll be inspired by the innovative planting and design. You'll also be amazed at the variety of plants in the garden.

Owner Geoff Stonebanks works tirelessly in his plot to raise funds for charity and has already raised over £21,000 with 57 openings to date. Driftwood opens regularly for the NGS during the summer, as well as other charities and the garden was a finalist in the coveted Daily Mail National Garden Competition last year. This year also sees it as an active participant in the Thompson and Morgan customer seed trials programme. 

I had a sneak preview yesterday with my friend and fellow blogger, Ronnie Tyler, who is busy "kicking cancer". You can read her story on "Hurtled to 60 and now Beyond" Driftwood is one of the gardens on our trug list. We had perfect weather for our visit, even if the temperature was climbing into the high eighties, and it was wonderful to see Ronnie out and about. 

Driftwood is open tomorrow for the NGS, from 11.00 to 17.00 and Geoff will be serving tea in his delightful garden. His trademark is his vintage china. Neighbouring Sandgate Close is also open and I shall be dropping in there today for a sneak preview, so watch this space for more pictures later.

And if you can't get there this weekend, both gardens are also opening as part of the Sussex Macmillan Appeal, and featuring 22 gardens between Brighton and Eastbourne on the 3rd and 4th August. This is the second year of the programme and you can read about it and the participating gardens by clicking on the link