THE following gardens are open for the National Gardens Scheme: Saturday, May 16.

*Charingworth Court, Broadway Road, Winchcombe. This very special one and a half acre garden combines its NGS opening with an annual garden sculpture exhibition.

There are exhibits to suit every pocket, skilfully displayed amid the garden’s spectacular collection of trees.

Other highlights include a house-lapping pond, a Japanese garden and an extensive kitchen garden. Open 11am-6pm.

Sunday, May 17.

*Charingworth Court. As above *Kempsford Manor, High Street, Kempsford, near Fairford. The roses are coming into their own now, as are the herbaceous borders which run down from the elegant 17th and 18th century manor house.

Stroll away from the crowds along the canal walk. Open 2-5pm *Mill Dene Garden, School Lane, Blockley, near Moreton-in-Marsh. The centrepiece of this two and a half acre garden is a watermill thought to date from the 10th century. The garden is wonderfully varied, with an informal woodland, a rose walk, cricket lawn and herb garden with views over the hills. Open 2-5pm.

*Rodmarton Manor, near Cirencester has been opening for the National Gardens Scheme for a magnificent 50 years.

The eight acre garden surrounds an Arts and Crafts gem of a house, and is formed of a series of rooms, each with its own distinctive character.

There are hedges, topiary, lawns, a rockery, a wild garden, a kitchen garden and plant-packed herbaceous borders. Open 2-5pm.