Macmillan Coastal Garden Trail We published details of the Macmillan Coastal Garden Trail in July, and the event took place over a very challenging two days! Stress levels were high for the 15 garden owners in the run up to the event as forecasts were predicting awful storms and heavy rain. In reality, Saturday saw a fair bit of sunshine with high visitor numbers, whereas Sunday saw a few downpours and much lower numbers. Nonetheless, the overall turnout was much better than expected. Driftwood Fundraising Group chair and trail organiser, Geoff Stonebanks, who opened his garden Driftwood in Seaford as part of the event, has been supporting Macmillan Cancer Support since 2012. He and his amazing team of green-fingered volunteers have now handed over a few pounds short of £100K to the charity over the last 10 years. Geoff said: ‘This year has been a real challenge for us all to get our gardens looking their best. We’d get out and deadhead to get it looking it’s best then the heavy rain would beat all the blooms down again, very frustrating. On average, all gardens saw over 100 visitors each on the Saturday and 60 or so on the Sunday, in the rain. Our true British style showed through, with many enjoying tea and cakes under rain-soaked umbrellas or buying takeaway cakes.’ Geoff introduced online ticket sales this year, and over 100 people took advantage of the option as well as an online facility to donate to Macmillan Cancer Support, which was also well used. Feedback from visitors has all been very positive with Geoff being able to sign up 3/4 new garden owners for 2022. Amazingly, the event has raised in excess of £8,000 for Macmillan. Rosie and James, who opened their garden in North Gardens in Brighton for the very first time said: ‘We’ve had a wonderful weekend with so many kind and generous visitors.’ Emma Hammett, the charity’s Relationship Fundraising Manager for London & South East said: “A huge thank you to every single garden owner who participated to
raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support’s Horizon Centre in Brighton. A special thank you goes to Geoff who organised the event and heads up the Driftwood Fundraising Group. Geoff has been supporting the charity for many years and we are so grateful for his dedication and support. His efforts mean that we will be able to be there for people living with cancer in Brighton and the surrounding areas – which is both fantastic and admirable.’ Pete Gillman, one of the visitors over the weekend, contacted Geoff after the event and wrote: ‘It was great to meet you yesterday and I wanted to drop you a line to thank you for all your hard work in organising the garden tour. I came away inspired and delighted by all the beautiful gardens I saw and thought it was a very cool crowd. I’m already looking forward to next year.’ Geoff confirms the 2022 event will take place over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th July, with updates found at www.macmillangardentrail.co.uk
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