Exbury Gardens
Encyclopedia
Exbury Gardens is a famous garden
in Hampshire
, England
, which belongs to a branch of the Rothschild family
. It is situated in the village of Exbury
, just to the east of Beaulieu
across the river from Bucklers Hard
. It is well signposted from Beaulieu and from the A326 Southampton
to Fawley
road in the New Forest
.
Exbury is a 200 acres (80.9 ha) informal woodland garden with very large collections of rhododendron
s, azalea
s and camellia
s, and is often considered the finest garden of its type in the United Kingdom. Exbury holds the national collection of Nyssa (Tupelo
) and Oxydendrum under the NCCPG National Plant Collection
scheme run by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens
.
Other features include the Hydrangea
Walk, the Rock Garden
, Iris Garden, the Sundial
Garden which follows an exotic planting, and a Camellia
Walk (which takes visitors to a path alongside Beaulieu river and back via the pond).
purchased the Exbury estate in 1919 and soon set to creating a garden on an ambitious scale. The infrastructure included a water tower, three large concrete lined ponds, and 22 miles (35.4 km) of underground piping. Exbury is now open to the public for most of the year, with high seasons in the spring for the flowering shrubs and the autumn for the autumn colour. The Rothschild's house at Exbury is a neoclassical
mansion which was built around an earlier structure in the 1920s. It is not open to the public.
, Exbury Gardens Limited, whose objects are "to maintain, improve, develop and preserve Exbury Gardens in Hampshire, including opening them to the public, and to advance horticultural science, knowledge and learning for the public's benefit." In 2009 114,047 people visited the gardens.
. The railway is a member of Britain's Great Little Railways.
The railway however has proved to be more popular than anyone had anticipated, with trains often needing to be double headed. To solve this problem, a much larger 2-6-2 tender loco called Marriloo was built at Exmoor, and entered service on the line in 2008. It is notable for having carried the Queen on a footplate trip round the railway. The railway stages very popular Ghost Trains during the October half-term and Santa Steam Specials in the run-up to Christmas.
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which belongs to a branch of the Rothschild family
Rothschild banking family of England
The Rothschild banking family of England was founded in 1798 by Nathan Mayer von Rothschild who first settled in Manchester but then moved to London. Nathan was sent there from his home in Frankfurt by his father, Mayer Amschel Rothschild...
. It is situated in the village of Exbury
Exbury
Exbury is a village in Hampshire, England. It lies just in the New Forest, near the Beaulieu River and about a mile from the Solent coast. It is best known as the location of Exbury House, built by the Rothschild family, and the famous Exbury Gardens...
, just to the east of Beaulieu
Beaulieu, Hampshire
Beaulieu is a small village located on the south eastern edge of the New Forest national park in Hampshire, England and home to both Palace House and the British National Motor Museum.- History :...
across the river from Bucklers Hard
Bucklers Hard
Bucklers Hard is a hamlet situated on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire.- Overview :With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Bucklers Hard is part of the 9,000 acre Beaulieu Estate...
. It is well signposted from Beaulieu and from the A326 Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
to Fawley
Fawley, Hampshire
Fawley is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It is situated in the New Forest on the western shore of the Solent, approximately 7 miles south of Southampton. Fawley is also the site of an oil refinery, operated by Exxon-Mobil, which is the largest facility of its kind in the United...
road in the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
.
Exbury is a 200 acres (80.9 ha) informal woodland garden with very large collections of rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s, azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
s and camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
s, and is often considered the finest garden of its type in the United Kingdom. Exbury holds the national collection of Nyssa (Tupelo
Tupelo
The tupelo , black gum, or pepperidge tree, genus Nyssa , is a small genus of about 9 to 11 species of trees with alternate, simple leaves...
) and Oxydendrum under the NCCPG National Plant Collection
NCCPG National Plant Collection
The NCCPG National Plant Collection scheme is the main conservation vehicle whereby the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens can accomplish its mission: to conserve, grow, propagate, document and make available the resource of garden plants that exists in the United...
scheme run by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens
National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens
The National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens , also known as Plant Heritage, is a botanical conservation organisation in the United Kingdom and a registered charity. It was founded in 1978 to combine the talents of botanists, horticulturalists and conservationists with the...
.
Other features include the Hydrangea
Hydrangea
Hydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea...
Walk, the Rock Garden
Rock Garden
The Rock Garden or Rock Garden of Chandigarh is a Sculpture garden in Chandigarh, India, also known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden after its founder Nek Chand, a government official who started the garden secretly in his spare time in 1957. Today it is spread over an area of forty-acres , it is...
, Iris Garden, the Sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
Garden which follows an exotic planting, and a Camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
Walk (which takes visitors to a path alongside Beaulieu river and back via the pond).
History
Lionel Nathan de RothschildLionel Nathan de Rothschild
Lionel Nathan de Rothschild was an English banker and Conservative politician best remembered as the creator of Exbury Gardens...
purchased the Exbury estate in 1919 and soon set to creating a garden on an ambitious scale. The infrastructure included a water tower, three large concrete lined ponds, and 22 miles (35.4 km) of underground piping. Exbury is now open to the public for most of the year, with high seasons in the spring for the flowering shrubs and the autumn for the autumn colour. The Rothschild's house at Exbury is a neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
mansion which was built around an earlier structure in the 1920s. It is not open to the public.
Administration
The gardens are run by a registered charityCharitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
, Exbury Gardens Limited, whose objects are "to maintain, improve, develop and preserve Exbury Gardens in Hampshire, including opening them to the public, and to advance horticultural science, knowledge and learning for the public's benefit." In 2009 114,047 people visited the gardens.
Steam railway
In the north east corner of the gardens there is also the gauge Exbury Steam Railway that goes on a journey across the pond in Summer Lane Garden, along the top of the rock gardens and into the American Garden. The railway was built in 2000–2001 as an additional attraction in the gardens. Two narrow gauge style 0-6-2 tender tank locos were built specially for the line by the Exmoor Steam RailwayExmoor Steam Railway
The Exmoor Steam Railway is a narrow gauge steam railway and locomotive manufacturer, located at Bratton Fleming in North Devon.-12¼ in gauge:The railway was built by the Stirland family and first opened as a tourist attraction in August 1990...
. The railway is a member of Britain's Great Little Railways.
The railway however has proved to be more popular than anyone had anticipated, with trains often needing to be double headed. To solve this problem, a much larger 2-6-2 tender loco called Marriloo was built at Exmoor, and entered service on the line in 2008. It is notable for having carried the Queen on a footplate trip round the railway. The railway stages very popular Ghost Trains during the October half-term and Santa Steam Specials in the run-up to Christmas.