Garden presentation plaques for Scotland’s Gardens
Scotland’s Gardens recognises garden owners that have opened their gardens to the public under the scheme for 25, 50 or even 75 years by presenting them with “tallies”. Tallies are presentation plaques made of bronze with white infill and fitted to a stake. They are then proudly displayed in the relevant gardens.
We have been making these tallies for Scotland’s Gardens for over 15 years. This year’s quota included nine 25-year awards, four 75-year ones and two for 50 years. It also includes one for a garden very local to us: Pitmuies, which is situated just at the end of our road.
Some of these gardens, including Pitmuies, are open to the public all year round. Others can only be visited on specific dates or by arrangement. They come in all shapes and sizes from grand arboretums to cottage gardens. Can be attached to historic castles and family homes alike, dating from 500 years ago or 50 – or even less.
A passion for plants
What their owners have in common is a passion for plants, form and colour that they love sharing with like-minded visitors. The Scotland’s Gardens presentation plaques are a way of thanking the owners, past and present, for their passion and commitment. They acknowledge their contribution to Scottish life – not just as gardeners and employers of gardeners – but also in ways that are rather less obvious. Through the Scotland’s Gardens scheme, they all contribute to a wide range of local and national charities.
Scotland’s Gardens is itself a charity, based on the model of England’s National Gardens Scheme. It was founded in 1931 to raise money to support the training and pensions of district nurses. The founding of the NHS made that less relevant and the fundraising is now split.
40% goes to charities chosen by the individual garden-owners. The other 60% is divided between Perennial (formerly the Royal Gardeners’ Benevolent Fund and Orphan Fund), the Gardens Fund of the National Trust for Scotland, The Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland and Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres.
In 2015, total distributions to garden owners’ charities and Scotland’s Gardens’ beneficiaries amounted to over £200,000. We are very pleased to be involved in helping Scotland’s Gardens. In turn, they recognise the fund-raising efforts of garden owners and their visitors over the years by creating individual presentation plaques for each garden.
Interested in opening your garden under the scheme?
If you’re interested in opening your garden under the scheme (and maybe – who knows? – receiving your own presentation plaque in 25 years’ time!) you can find out more on the Scotland’s Gardens website. Meanwhile, why not visit your local garden when it’s open and make your own contribution to the scheme?
And if you want to give a presentation plaque to a person or place for whatever reason, do get in touch: we’ll be happy to discuss your requirements. The ones we make for Scotland’s Gardens are bronze, but we can also make presentation plaques for outdoors from stainless steel and a variety of plastics, and from brass for indoor use.