Privett Village Hall 7.30pm

Following a long and successful career in IT, Mark is now a Member of Council of the RHS and Trustee of the National Garden Scheme.

We are looking forward to welcoming Mark Porter to come and talk to us about the NGS. Mark is the Hampshire County Organiser and has opened his own garden and vineyard under the scheme for the past nine years. He is Chairman of the Itchen Valley Garden Society in Hampshire and gives lectures on designing winter gardens, establishing a vineyard and winemaking and also judging at RHS Show gardens.

Mark developed a passion for gardening since he grew vegetables on his first allotment in the 1970s and we have a follow up visit to his lovely garden, The Down House in Itchen Abbas later in February 2025.

The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to the public for charity". The scheme has raised over £67 million since it began, and normally opens over 3,500 gardens a year.