Sneak peaks in the gardens of strangers

If you're a frustrated green fingered type - or green thumbed, as the Germans say - then this summer you can find inspiration across the Rhineland through the "Offene Gartenpforte 2010". Over three weekends this summer (including this weekend) public and private gardens will be open to the public so you can steal some garden design ideas, go green with envy at the sight of other peoples private green oases and also listen to blow by blow accounts of how proud gardeners have achieved their flowering rockery, bird shaped topiary or herbaceous border. It's a delightful way of looking into the gardens of strangers and seeing parts of your local area that you would never normally get to see. The open garden weekends in NRW are: 15/16 May, 12/13 June, 10/11 July.
www.offene-gartenpforte.de