A Ceredigion couple who transformed their land into a spectacular garden and opened it to the public have raised £50,000 for charity.

Bwlch y Geuffordd gardens in Bronant belongs to Gay and Jim Acres. The unique, constantly evolving wildlife and water garden contains themed areas including Mediterranean, cottage garden, woodland, Oriental, memorial and jungle.

But it hasn’t always been so beautiful. When they first bought Bwlch y Geuffordd in 1974, it consisted of nine acres of bleak, windswept moorland bog at 1,000 feet.

“There were a handful of mature trees, the meagre remains of a roofless, derelict stone cottage, and nothing else,” the couple recalls.

“There were no access roads, fences, shelter from wind, water, electricity, telephone, or sanitation.

“The "soil" was peaty water over white clay, capable of growing nothing but rushes. But there was space and freedom, and it was affordable. The first tasks were to put in a road and build a house.

“By 1986 the house was almost complete, so we planted a couple of thousand trees to give us shelter and improve the land, which was so wet the only trees that would survive would be alder and native willow, and we had to plant them on humps to raise them out of the water. Some parts were too wet even for those, so it would be better to dig a pond. It appeared pointless to even consider a garden.

“However, we love a challenge. We did want to raise our children with an awareness of the natural world, and they loved the pond, and discovering the wildlife that came with it. They enjoyed the pond so much, that a garden slowly evolved around it.”

Gay and Jim have created a truly amazing garden in challenging growing conditions, and by opening it up to the public they have also raised over £50,000 for National Garden Scheme charities like Macmillan, Marie Curie, Hospice UK, and Maggie’s.

The National Garden Scheme (NGS) website explains more about the initiative.

It says: “The National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique access to over 3,300 exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, and raises impressive amounts of money for nursing and health charities through admissions, teas and cake.

“Thanks to the generosity of garden owners, volunteers and visitors we have donated over £77.8 million to nursing and health charities and in 2025 made an annual donation of over £3.8 million.

“Our core beneficiaries include Carer’s Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK, Parkinson’s UK and The Queen’s Nursing Institute.

“The National Garden Scheme doesn’t just open beautiful gardens for charity – we are passionate about the physical and mental health benefits of gardens too. We also support charities doing amazing work in gardens and health and grant bursaries to help community gardening projects.”

Gay and Jim jumped at the chance to share their work with others, as they explained.

“When we discovered the National Garden Scheme, we thought it an excellent idea, and as our family has been bruised by cancer, we worked hard to create a garden to join the scheme.

“We first opened for the NGS in 2002, with two open days a year, then decided to be open by arrangement all the time instead.

“The appreciation and enthusiasm of visitors was so inspiring that we increased our efforts, created more features, and more gardens.

“We added features for children – a train, tree-house, musical instruments, a dragon trail, and pond dipping sessions.

“We quickly realised it was important to cater for children – happy kids means happy parents and grandparents. We also realised that by catering for children, not only did we host traditional NGS visitors, but lots of families also.

“For those who like to enjoy the garden more slowly, we added plenty of seating, and, of course, lots of flowers. We became a venue where entire families could spend a day and enjoy themselves, from toddlers to great grandparents, plant lovers, nature lovers, art lovers and fun lovers.

“We host on average 1,300 visitors a year, coming as singles, couples, young families, great extended families, schools and groups. Locals come, and holidaymakers from the UK, Europe and beyond.

“We also wanted to extend the idea of helping people dealing with cancer, instead of simply supplying funds to the charities, so we invite them to visit without charge.”

With Jim’s health now failing, he is building a shepherd’s hut to enable poorly people to take a break should they need it. On a good day he can manage about four hours, painfully slowly and with help, followed by a couple of days of rest.

In future they will have to think about how the garden can help pay to maintain itself; currently they pay for the help from their pensions! But they feel rewarded.

“We rarely go anywhere else, so the garden is our life, and what a fulfilling, satisfying life it is.

“There is always a wide variety of things to do, every day whatever the weather, keeping us fit and challenged.

“The wildlife that shares this space has increased massively, we give joy to thousands of people, and we get to have conversations with all our delightful visitors, who are diverse, interesting and a joy for us to talk to.

“And, as a bonus, we have made tens of thousands of pounds for the charities.”

Bwlch y Geuffordd gardens is open by arrangement, meaning you can contact Gay and Jim directly to discuss your requirements and arrange a date for a group or bespoke visit. If you would like to see this magnificent garden for yourself, visit https://bwlch-y-geuffordd-gardens.co.uk/ where the couple’s contact details can be found. The garden is open daily from 10am.

If you would like to find more gardens to visit as part of the scheme, of if you have been inspired to open your garden to the public, visit the NGS website: https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/