Gardeners will have the chance to pose questions to a special Celebrity Gardeners Question Time panel in May to raise funds for the National Garden Scheme.

The event includes expert panellists Bunny Guinness and Alan Gray, who will be answering questions at Madingley Hall, near Cambridge, on May 25.

Also with Bunny and Alan on the panel will be Madingley’s head gardener, Richard Gant, and the chief executive of the National Garden Scheme, George Plumptre.

Richard, who has led the gardening team at Madingley for more than 30 years, said: “This is a very unusual chance for gardeners to get help with some of their trickier problems.

“We’re delighted to be hosting this in aid of such a good cause. We’re expecting it to be a lively event. It will be a great day out for anyone attending.”

Ticket holders will be able to submit questions ahead of the day, which also includes a guided tour of Madingley’s spectacular Capability Brown landscape, with the hall’s garden staff, plus lunch.

Some 3,500 exceptional private gardens open in England and Wales each year under the National Garden Scheme, raising funds through admissions, teas and cake.

The scheme is the largest single funder of nursing and health charities in the UK. Major beneficiaries include Macmillan Nurses, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Hospice UK and the Queen’s Nursing Institute.

It has raised a total of £55 million for these causes since it was founded in 1927, they have raised £58 million and donated £3 million in 2019 from funds raised in 2018.

Tickets are £35 each and are limited to 200. Book on the National Garden Scheme website at: https://www.ngs.org.uk/event-calendar/