Although the figures show us that we had some 600 less visitors than last year, the actual money collected was several hundred pounds more than last year.  Result: £3,799 divided equally between the Church Wall Fund, the Village Hall, and the East Anglia Air  Ambulance.
This was a very satisfying result for all the months of preparation that had been needed to get the fifteen gardens ready for visitors.  Then there was of course, the infra-structure that is necessary for such an event.  Land was generously offered by the Greentree, Davis, Parfitt, and Harvey families to be utilised as car parks; Ruth and Bill Waller organised the Dereham Scout Troop, a very efficient and personable group of lads, to monitor and steward the incoming cars.  Transport was arranged by Ivan Powley to collect marquees, gazebos, trestle tables etc. and the ‘usual suspects’ were rounded up to fetch, carry and erect.  And what would a village event be without food and drink!  Here, when it comes to catering, the Foxley ladies came into their own: Maisie Parfitt with her Beefburger Bar, and the last but not least Sheila Barrett with all her helpers in the Village Hall Cafeteria
Scattered around the village were many other attractions, designed to amuse and interest, but not forgetting the main task of raising money for charity.  There were stalls with their cakes, their bric-a-brac, and the immensely popular pots of cuttings.  Mary Fletcher turned part of her garden into a mini-market selling the more mature plant, aided and abetted by Howard and Margaret Lupton with their display of Lewisa,
 whilst John Fletcher had the lawn spread with an exhibition of Stationary Working Steam Engines.  To see the Dewings’ immaculate garden, one had to first run the gauntlet of their Tombola  stall.  In the Village Hall, lending their considerable talents to the cause, were local artist Angela Wells, photographer George Buckle, Master Baker Norman Olley, and a representative for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
As visitors wound their way through the village from one garden to the next, the warm summer afternoon breeze carried to them the strains of music from Foxley’s resident musicians Sam, Ian and Oli.  As an incentive to rest one’s eyes from the brightness and bustle of the day, the Church offered a diversion of shady coolness coupled with a study of outstandingly beautifully arranged flowers, the theme being “Service to Others”: a work by the talented Church Flower Ladies.
When the last visitor had left, after very many compliments and praises for the very high standard of the gardens, all the helpers made their way to the Greentrees’ garden, and met up to take some well earned refreshment; and over a cup of tea or a glass of wine tales of the day were recounted.  Although everyone was feeling justifiably tired, we all felt we had had a very worthwhile day.  Ruth Whitmore, who as Chair of the Open Gardens Day Committee is the organiser par excellence, closed the day with a speech of thanks to all her helpers, which, as she pointed out, was most of the village.  It certainly was quite heart-warming to realise how many people had given up their rest day to lend a hand.  But Foxley is that kind of village….