Garden lovers and plant collectors will be wending their way to Minety this weekend (24) for a magical walk around fruit plots, country estate gardens, a nature reserve and an arboretum, part of a burgeoning annual event organised by gardening enthusiast and farmer’s wife Kate Gallop.

Kate is opening her own garden at Oakwood Farm, hosting a plant fair and inviting visitors to take a stroll around another seven inspirational gardens dotted around Minety and Upper Minety. Under the aegis of the National Garden Scheme, the community event is also raising money for the charity Macmillan Cancer Support.

“It’s our third year,” she says. “It all started with the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning event about eight years ago. That’s how it began.”

From these quieter beginnings, Kate decided to expand with an open garden event, which became bigger and bigger. Last year it included four gardens.

She explains that when you arrive, you pay £5 admission and receive a map which lays out a trail for you to follow. Apparently, the name Minety takes its name from the wild mint which grows around the villages, so the air may be sweetly scented as you peruse the gardens.

“There is a tranquil, private arboretum and nature reserve, several cottage gardens including one specialising in vegetables, another through and enchanted doorway into a large manor house, meadow walks, and a big country estate garden and grounds,” she said.

If these were not temptation enough, the church will be filled with specially created floral arrangements, as well as an art exhibition, with local harpists providing the music. Back at Oakwood Farm, specialist nurseries will be setting up stalls.

Kate, who is married to dairy farmer Chris, has two sons, Stuart and Andrew. They have lived at Oakwood Farm for 27 years and moved from Wotton Under Edge, where his parents farmed. Kate has been shaping her garden over the years, guided by a preference for tidiness and naturalness. While these themes may seem to be in opposition, she brings them together in a garden that is simple and informal, with areas of wildness and carefully placed sculptures made by her husband from recycled and upcycled materials. One is a spiral of wooden posts, each getting taller and it is further from the centre.

She says she did not set out with a grand plan: “It just evolved. My husband created the sculpture for me. Some people think its musical, but we call it the snail. It’s a talking point!”

Another space centres on a pergola with roses, which she created 22 years ago and calls the secret garden. It overlooks the stumpery – a collection of baroque-looking tree stumps gathered from hedges around the farm – which lie around a pond, surrounded by hostas.

“Prince Charles has a stumpery. I think he pinched our idea,” she smiles. “The hostas have gone berserk this year. This was a little pond when we arrived, but we used the digger to make it bigger. We planted the bulrushes and used stone from a local quarry.”

The pond is also thick with yellow flag irises and borders the tiny patch of oak woodland where early in the year, snowdrops blossom, followed by bluebells and then a sea of cow parsley. Here are bird boxes, a den built by her sons – and another sculpture. This is a giant bluebell made from recycled farm materials.

The garden also extends into the field in front of the farm, with another sculpture made of metal strips, a bench and new trees planted. On the open day, the sheep will be moved and this will be the site for the stalls and car parking.

“The event brings the village together,” Kate says. “Jenny Jarvis and her team (from the Cirencester Macmillan group) swoop in with cakes and do all the teas. It’s amazing.”

The event attracts visitors from far and wide, and last year included people from Bristol and even the Netherlands.

Macmillan offers support advice to people with cancer, from the moment of diagnosis, through treatment and beyond. The National Garden Scheme publishes an annual handbook detailing thousands of beautiful gardens you can visit. It helps garden owners open their gardens and raises funds for nursing charities. It has donated over £50 million so far. Last year the NGC donated £3.1 million from funds raised in 2017, included £500,000 to Macmillan Cancer Support.

The plant fair and gardens will be open from 11am to 5pm on Sunday June 24, at Oakwood Farm, Crossing Lane in Upper Minety.