HEREFORDSHIRE is home to one of the largest private formal gardens to have been created in England since the Second World War – and the gates are set to open to raise money for St Michael's Hospice.

The Laskett Gardens – which are just off the A49, south of Much Birch – feature 24 areas created over the course of four decades by Sir Roy Strong and his late wife, Julia Trevelyan Oman, who died in 2003.

The gardens are normally open to pre-booked groups throughout the spring and summer but will be open for everyone to explore on Sunday, August 27.

Sir Roy was a former director of the V&A Museum and, before that, the National Portrait Gallery and his late wife was an acclaimed theatre and film designer. Their gardens offer a unique portrait of the makers with the story of their marriage and extraordinary lives woven into its very fabric.

The Laskett Gardens are opening this year as part of the St Michael’s Hospice Open Gardens programme.

Sir Roy said: "The hospice is one of the great institutions of Herefordshire. We really ought to get on our knees and be very grateful for it. Herefordshire has to be very proud."

He added: "I think gardens are solace, they bring such pleasure and are also a place for memory. They cross all society, much like sport and cooking."

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