Not many of you will have heard of Elsie Wagg – or know that in 1927 she did something wonderful. I’ll return to that later.

I read recently that in a government survey gardeners and hairdressers come out top in the happiness index of professions. Bankers are the unhappiest. Having changed my career seven years ago from corporate banking to garden design and gardening, that doesn’t surprise me. (Interestingly the financial gain from these careers is in direct inverse correlation to the happiness gained from doing them).

For those who don’t get paid for it, thousands of people garden as a hobby. And 80 per cent of people on holiday like to visit a garden when they’re away. Put tea and cake into the mix and it adds up to a little bit of heaven.

Before we go back to Elsie Wagg, let’s go back further to 1859 and William Rathbone. He was a Liverpool merchant and philanthropist who paid a nurse called Mrs Robinson to care for his sick wife. It struck him that while he was wealthy enough to do this, there were thousands of sick people who could not afford it.

So he paid Mrs Robinson to go into Liverpool to nurse the poor. But before long she told Mr Rathbone that because conditions were so terrible she could make no impression on them. Mr Rathbone set up a nursing school, and sent nurses into the city. This was the start of district nursing, which rapidly spread throughout the country, and attracted the active support of Florence Nightingale and Queen Victoria.

The NHS wasn’t founded until 1948, so this work had to be funded by charity. The organising body for district nursing was the Queen’s Nursing Institute. Elsie Wagg, who was a member of the QNI Council, had the idea of inviting people with fine gardens to open them to the public, to raise funds. 609 gardens opened at one shilling per head, and £8,191 was raised – a considerable sum at that time. This was the start of the National Garden Scheme. It was a great success, and King George V opened his garden in Sandringham, which has been open every year for the NGS since.

This year 3,800 gardens will open for the NGS - 100 in Cumbria. Given the volume of gardens opening, it is impressive that the high standard of its gardens remains uncompromised. To quote the charity’s patron, HRH the Prince of Wales: "There is a particular magic in arriving to visit a garden about which you previously knew nothing, somewhere with no public reputation, and being bowled over by what you discover once you are through the gate". The variety is breathtaking - from village gardens to tiny cottage gardens and allotments, to rolling acres, you will find gardens to inform and inspire.

But the enjoyment offered to visitors is only half the story. Since its foundation the NGS has donated over £40m to its beneficiaries. The physical and mental health benefits of visiting gardens and gardening are very real, and form a significant link between NGS and its beneficiaries. The NGS is the largest individual funder for McMillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Carers Trust, Hospice UK, and the QNI.

So by visiting an NGS garden, with plants to buy and cakes to eat, our visitors will be supporting these wonderful causes. That’s really quite extraordinary. This year we are delighted to have Mary Berry as our President.

So you see why we have such cause to be grateful to Elsie Wagg – and to our garden owners who do such wonderful work opening their gardens. Information on garden openings can be found in the NGS County Leaflet and on the NGS website: ngs.org.uk.