Channel Island gardens open to public for events

Private and public gardens across the Channel Islands are to take part in a celebration of green spaces as part of the Normandy programme of the 2026 Rendez-vous aux Jardins event.

The event was to showcase more than 2,800 parks and gardens in Europe, with 10 gardens from across the bailiwick and eight in Jersey, organisers said.

The theme of the programme is the Five Senses in the Garden, with a focus on "sight" that will focus on the garden's designs, landscapes and perspectives, they added.

Guernsey's Candie Gardens hosted the event's launch, with organisers from Normandy present at the ceremony.

At the event launch on Tuesday, Jean-Michel Knop, Regional Director of Cultural Affairs for Normandy, said he believed the link between the Channel Islands and France was "extremely important" and that "we must continue that story".

He said: "There is a long history between Normandy and the Channel Islands, and I appreciate that we are now re-approaching each other.

"This particular initiative enables the people to see public and private gardens in all these different areas. It is a great initiative for us all to undertake."

Charlotte Howe, lead for Culture and Heritage for Jersey, said the initiative "brings together partners across Europe to celebrate the heritage of our gardens".

She said: "Guernsey, Jersey and Normandy have an absolutely unique position in terms of how our gardens are.

"The Normandy region has been really engaged in everything that we're doing between the islands, and anyone with that beautiful Norman history can come together and celebrate all of those links."

Howe also said Jersey had eight gardens participating this year, "which is a massive increase - as we only had one last year - which is fantastic".

"It really is testament to the fact that this is growing and becoming a really big event across Europe and Jersey," she said.

Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, President of Guernsey's Committee for Economic Development said: "We've got nine gardens overall, and it's not just Guernsey but also Alderney and Sark taking part."

Of the links between the Channel Islands and Normandy, she said her committee aimed to build better cultural trade and tourism links "with our closest neighbours".

"This has been one of the initiatives that's been picked up by Visit Guernsey and they've been able to to create this this partnership and secure this launch for Guernsey, which is I think a great success," she said.

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