Our Impact - Gardens for Good Causes
Our charity raises funds for hundreds of charities each year, powered by our amazing teams of volunteers and garden owners around Scotland, through garden gate tickets, plants sales and teas.
A summary of our 2025 achievements:
220 regular volunteers involved and a further network of around 720 occasional event volunteers and garden openers who give their skills, time, enthusiasm and generosity to open private gardens to the public and raise funds for charity.
An estimated 70,000+ visitors to gardens
£424,320 raised through garden open days with £235,805 going to charities and causes chosen by our garden openers.
£24,000 each was allocated to our core charities: the Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland, Perennial and Maggie's, based on 2025 garden income generated
We supported 9 professional horticulturists through our Cattanach Bursart scheme, awarding £5,698 for training and developmet for people working in horticulture in Scotland, funding a diverse range of courses and professional development opportunities.
Donated £5,000 to a guest charity, Trellis, a therapeutic horticulture charity, to support their work to deliver a range of projects.
Our Charitable Support
Through our annual garden openings, Scotland’s Gardens Scheme supported over 250 different charities and good causes in 2025. Our garden owners may donate up to 60% of funds raised through their garden opening to a cause of their own choosing, often something in their local communities, or a charity close to their heart. The remaining 40% going to our own charity and to our three core charities below, who we are immensely proud to support.
In spring 2026, we donated £24,000 to each of our three core charities, QNIS, Perennial and Maggie’s, based on our 2025 garden opening season.
To read more about the work of these wonderful charities, please visit their websites, linked below.
We also make donations to over 250 charities and local good causes each year, chosen by our garden openers as causes close to their hearts.
The image shows garden opener Kirsty Maguire and her beautiful baby boy; Kirsty told us why her family choose to support the amazing charity Crossbasket House through their garden opening.
Read Kirsty’s story here
Discover more of our charity stories and impact below:
Our core charities each received £24,000 through Garden Openings in 2025
Thank you to Dame Laura Lee for this message of thanks from Maggie’s to all our garden owners, volunteers and visitors:
The following causes chosen by garden openers
have received over £2,000 in 2025.
Highland Hospice - £7,207
Scottish Charity Air Ambulance - £6,980
Abundant Borders - £6,258
Marie Curie - £5,767
Maggie’s - £5,715 (in addition to core donation)
Leuchie - £5,642
Loch Arthur Camphill - £5,474
RNLI - £4,365
Perennial - £4,120 (in addition to core donation)
Alzheimer Scotland - £3,934
British Limbless Ex-servicemen’s Association - £3,850
Rio Community Centre - £3,010
Mary’s Meals - £2,882
MND Scotland - £2,877
Medecins Sans Frontieres - £2,859
Barrahormid Trust - £2,766
Strathcarron Hospice - £2,720
Gifford Horticultural Society - £2,706
Lynton Day Centre - £2,580
Go Flourish - £2,577
The Forget-Me-Not Club - £2,398
Rhu and Shandon Parish Church - £2,269
Crossbasket House at Glasgow
Children’s Hospital Ltd - £2,068
Children First - £2,040
Corsock and Kirkpatrick Durham Church - £2,024
Our 2023 Impact Report
Read about our 2023 year and the difference Scotland’s Gardens Scheme volunteers and gardens owners have made.
