ALTHOUGH the prolonged heatwave has defeated most gardeners, Mary Trigwell-Jones still managed to welcome visitors to a garden full of flowers when she held her open days in aid of the National Garden Scheme.

Mary, who opened her garden in East Worldham to the public over three days from August 4-6, said she has faced worse conditions, including one year when a hosepipe ban was in effect.

But she still had to spend many hours watering her flowers ahead of the annual open days to keep them in beautiful condition for the 150 visitors who also picked up some handy gardening tips from Mary and her green-fingered husband.

Visitors also enjoyed sitting in the shade of the old orchard with tea and cakes, and as a result the open days raised £800.

As she closed her garden gate on Monday, Mary admitted it had been hard work getting the garden watered but the secret, she said, “is to have a lot of water butts!”.

Part of the money raised will go toward the parish church and the Tafara Mission in Zimbabwe which works to eradicate poverty in the area, the rest to the National Garden Scheme.