The Gardens Trust offers a grant scheme for volunteer projects supporting historic designed landscapes. The Gardens Trust Community Grant is for up to £10,000 and is intended to help seed-fund volunteer projects that will support historic designed landscapes in the UK. Previous recipients of the grant include Your Park Bristol and Bath, The Warneford 200 Gardening Group, Broomhill Community Trust and Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust.
A historic designed landscape is usually considered to be an outdoor area deliberately shaped and planted by people for aesthetic and recreational effect. These dynamic sites, ranging from grand country house parks and public gardens to cemeteries and urban squares, reflect the artistic styles, social values, and technologies of the eras in which they were created.
The application process is intentionally as simple as possible, as the Trust is keen that this is an inclusive and accessible scheme.
The criteria for the grant are:
- The applicant must be a volunteer group. It does not have to be a registered charity, but does need to be able to demonstrate that it is an active group with a clear plan.
- The project can be any activity relating to historic designed landscapes (please refer to the FAQs at the end of the application form for clarification on historic designed landscapes).
- They are particularly looking for something that will act as seed-funding/pump priming for a sustainable activity. For example, an application to fund a restoration plan, Friends group set-up costs, research project, or volunteer training scheme.
- The project can be based anywhere in the United Kingdom.
They particularly encourage applications that reflect Gardens Trust priorities around conservation, sharing knowledge, and encouraging inclusive participation and enjoyment of historic designed landscapes.
The next deadline for applications is Friday 16 October 2026