We are opening our garden for charity again this year, along with three of our neighbours. It would be fantastic if you could all think positively about a nice sunny afternoon on 29 July.

Too little rain in early spring. Too much rain in late spring. Too hot early on. Too cold later on. Too rainy in June. How endlessly interesting our weather is. I was chatting to Phillip, who comes from Southern California, where you can rely on the weather being more or less identical every day. He was bewildered by our climate and wondered why anyone would put up with it. Every day the same though: how odd. You wouldn’t need to leave the house with a bag of accessories.

Unexpectedly, our neighbour, Alexandra Palace, has cut down the fir trees that shaded the back of our garden, transforming it from a dark and dingy place to an area of lovely dappled shade. Clive is busy filling the area with sculptures made of ironing boards and things with holes in them, as there are too many slugs and snails around to fill it successfully with vegetables, which is what we would rather like. Perhaps next year…

Come and look at the garden anyway. It is rather wild and shaggy. We have been aiming for a Lost Gardens of Heligan feel (before they were found) and this year the weather has perfected the look for us. Tear yourselves away from the Olympics and turn up, with brollies if necessary, and nice full pockets of cash to spend. There will be tea and cake, stalls, music and clowns, assuming the weather is dry enough for them to get their props out, which it wasn’t last year. There may be dancing as well. And all the money raised goes to really good charities, like Macmillan Nurses and Marie Curie.

Alexandra Park Gardens are open from 2-6pm on Sunday 29 July

http://www.ngs.org.uk/gardens/gardenfinder/garden.aspx?id=21172