Green-fingered gardeners will show off talent

A total of 16 gardens will be available for viewing in the parish’s latest open gardens event.

They will be open from 1pm-5pm on Sunday (June 24).

Programmes which detail the locations will be on sale at the Church Centre in Nyetimber Lane.

Among the roads where gardens will be on show are Conway Drive, Bishops Close, The Crescent and Pagham Road.

One of the organisers, Valerie Smith, said: “This is the fourth year we have staged the event and it’s very popular. People just like gardens and love to see other people and their gardens.

“The gardening programmes on TV are very popular and people, especially if they have recently moved, want to get ideas from other gardens. We have gardens of all sizes on show. There is also a lot of interest in plants.”

The event will again be aid of the Friends of St Thomas a’Becket Church. Its members are raising funds for new bell ropes for its bell tower.

The first church on the site was built by the Saxons 1,300 years ago. A larger Norman church was built. A further rebuilding took place within 40 years of the murder of Archbishop Thomas a’Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in December 1170.

Last year’s event saw just over £1,500 raised.