ACOUNTRY garden bestknown for its dazzling snowdrop display early in the year is opening its gates to the public to prove it truly is a garden for all seasons.

The three-quarters of an acre at Dial Park, Chaddesley Corbett, near Kidderminster, is Olive Mason’s pride and joy. Part country, part formal, it has been known to attract as many as 1,000 visitors in just two days.

Mrs Mason said: “It is a garden for all seasons. I try to keep things here all the time. I have a big collection of snowdrops every winter and now I have other things.”

The 78-year-old has been showing her garden as part of the National Gardens Scheme since the mid- 1990s and chooses a different time to open each year.

In 2010, Dial Park opened in February for the snowdrops, and will open on again on Sunday, May 23 (11am to 4pm), and Sunday, October 3 (2pm to 5pm), so people can enjoy the changing landscape and colours through different seasons.

Mrs Mason and her husband, David, have worked hard to create their beautiful garden. When they arrived 20 years ago the area was part farmyard, with a couple of pear trees in what was the garden.

Mrs Mason said: “There was no garden here, really. We planted everything our visitors see now.”

The couple share the work of maintaining the beautiful grounds; Mr Mason mows the lawns and trims the hedges, while Mrs Mason looks after the planting.

But for anyone not so interested in flowers, Dial Park does offer a collection of historical garden tools.

Visitors can find Mr and Mrs Mason’s collection, which dates back to the early Victorian period, at the bottom of the garden.

Mrs Mason said: “Sometimes the men are a bit more interested in those than the garden itself.”

Anyone who would like to visit Dial Park, but who cannot make next Sunday, or in October, can do so by appointment.

Dial Park, Chaddesley Corbett, near Kidderminster DY10 4QB.

Telephone 01562 777451 Admission is £2.50, children are allowed entry free of charge.

Refreshments.