Weekend of 27th and 28th June 2026
Chorlton Open Gardens will be the weekend of Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June 2026, from 11am – 4pm each day (please note new closing times). Programmes are now available: click yellow button below for details of where to buy them. Please bring cash if possible.*
We have a range of amazing, unusual or intimate spaces open to anyone carrying that day’s programme. Each day has a different set of interesting open spaces – mostly private gardens.
New: On Sunday 28th at 3pm, there will be a Gardeners Question Time at Chorlton Central Church, with live horticultural panel plus GQT regular Cleve West online. Please book through eventbrite (and find more details here).
Programmes will be needed for each person at £5 per day; each will have a map and brief details of the gardens open that day. The charge has been kept as low as possible. Under 13s come free, but must be accompanied by a responsible adult with a programme.
*We ask for cash payments because we receive all the money if paid by cash. If paying by card or paypoint a transaction fee is paid to the card company.
Each garden description includes brief access details, plus whether there are other attractions and amenities, such as live music, craft sales, and in a few cases access to a toilet. Several gardeners will be serving teas and other refreshments – some may have a card reader, but please bring real cash – and preferably lots of change to make a purchase or donation.
Programmes
You can buy your programmes in advance (one needed per person per day), at a number of wonderful shops supporting Chorlton Open Gardens in 2026. Some outlets will be open for programmes on the days. Please bring cash if possible!
Click the yellow button to find out where and when you can buy programmes.
Our History
Chorlton Open Gardens was set up in 2013 to raise funds for Freedom From Torture (then called the Medical Campaign for the Care of Victims of Torture).
We have opened several times since then, with a range of different volunteer gardeners throwing their spaces open to the public.
Each year we get hundreds of visitors, and expanded in 2022 and 2023 to a 2-day event. You can look through our archive pages at our previous Open Gardens.
Who We Are
Chorlton Open Gardens (COG) is run by a tiny volunteer committee of previous and current gardeners (offers of help are always welcome!).
We recruit and support the gardeners each year, and provide publicity and administrative support.
The money raised each Open Gardens day is given to Freedom From Torture and another local volunteer charity, Chorlton Refugee Aid (part of Care UK).
Offer Your Garden
Thinking you’d like to show your garden in future!?
Click the button to find out more
Chorlton Open Gardens raises money for two charities:
Freedom from Torture
Freedom From Torture (FFT) provides professional psychological and medical support to people who have been tortured, and are now living in Greater Manchester, seeking asylum.
Chorlton Refugee Aid (Care UK)
Chorlton Refugee Aid (Care UK), a local volunteer group, supplies donated clothes and other essentials to asylum seekers living in hotels locally or housed across Greater Manchester.