Danbury plant sale raises £2,077 for Farleigh Hospice & Danbury virtual Open Gardens

Over the May bank holiday weekend, the Danbury Community came together to organise a social distancing plant sale in aid of Farleigh Hospice, raising an incredible £2,077 for the charity.

Organised by Margaret Axon, Caroline Musgrave, and Tina and Peter Hunt, the event was a huge success, with local residents donating plants and visitors buying flowers for their gardens, while respecting the social distancing rules.

Margaret Axon, a long-time supporter, and fundraiser for Farleigh Hospice has been organising plant sales and Open Gardens events for the hospice for over two decades. Following the success of the event, Margaret is planning the next social distancing plant sale over the weekend of the 23rd of May from 10 am to 5 pm each day at Wych Elm, Mayes Lane, Danbury, CM3 4NJ. Donations of plants have been coming in from Meadow Croft Garden Centre, as well as from the generous people of Danbury.

As well as the plant sales, Margaret also organises Farleigh’s annual Danbury Open Gardens event which, due to social distancing measures, will this year take place online on Sunday the 14th of June from 10 am.

Speaking about her fundraising through COVID-19, Margaret said “We had a maximum of fifteen people in the garden at any one time during our plant sales and this will be the case during the next event over the weekend of the 23rd May. The sale went so smoothly, people were very generously donating and following all the social distancing rules.

When it comes to Open Gardens, it’s an event I’ve been organising for twenty years. In our first year, we raised £300 for Farleigh. Last year we raised £10,100. This shows how popular the event is and how important it was we kept it going virtually during these uncertain times. Around twenty people will send in pictures and videos of their gorgeous gardens and this will be available to watch online, where people can donate through a link in the video on the website."

Debbie de Boltz, Corporate and Community Manager for Farleigh Hospice said “Margaret has been an immense supporter of Farleigh through many years and we can’t thank her enough for her efforts to keep fundraising over this testing time. By organising socially distanced plant sales and a virtual Open Gardens event, Margaret and those in her community are ensuring Farleigh can continue providing care to those with life-limiting illnesses and support the NHS as best we can through the pandemic.”

To access the virtual Open Gardens event and donate towards Farleigh Hospice, please visit www.danburyopengardens.co.uk from 10:00 am on Sunday the 14th of June.