Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
June 2018 visiting Mottisfont with a fellow rose-lover. A day of laughter and fun. Overblown, blowsy, beautiful, fragrant, lush, a little ragged, absolutely in need of some serious dead-heading - but equally glamorous and hopelessly romantic, there are no rose gardens quite like Mottisfont. Soulful, they inhabit the walled gardens of this ancient priory, clambering…
Continue reading ➞ Mottisfont Rose Gardens, June 2018
Creating a White Garden Straight out of the block, I'm talking about green. And grey, silver, and variegation. We'll get to white but a few thoughts first. ‘Green is the backdrop to the garden but in its range of shades and textures, green has much more to offer as any foreground interest. Grey dims,…
Continue reading ➞ A few scribblings on creating a White Garden
Overblown, blowsy, beautiful, fragrant, lush, a little ragged, absolutely in need of some serious dead-heading - but equally glamorous and hopelessly romantic, there are no rose gardens quite like Mottisfont. Soulful, they inhabit the walled gardens of this ancient priory, clambering through the many venerable apple and pear tress, hopelessly constrained by box or lavender,…
Continue reading ➞ Mottisfont Rose Gardens
I've an 'Introduction to Pruning' workshop to present tomorrow so I'm all about secateurs and shrubs; loppers, ladders and most importantly, looking; and climbers; roses, of course; a foray fruit trees - and trees generally; a touch of soft fruit if there is time. The dead, diseased and dying, and timing. Safety, very importantly. And…
Continue reading ➞ Autumn Pruning …
A pilgrimage to these gardens, for which, so far as the roses are concerned, we have Graham Stuart Thomas to thank principally and for the last 40+ years, the National Trust for preserving and enhancing his original collection of Old Roses. Mottisfont holds the National Collection of Shrub Roses. I met Jonny Bass, the head…
Continue reading ➞ A return to Mottisfont Abbey; an Old Rose Pilgrimage
La Belle Sultane Rosa Mundi Kazanlik Honorine de Brabant Madame Isaac Pereire Souvenir de la Malmaison Variegata di Bologna Blanc double de Coubert Hansa Peach Grootendorst Rosa rugosa Alba Schneezwerg Emporeur du Maroc Ferdinand Pichard Hugh Dickson Reine des Violettes Nur Mahal Bengal Beauty Cramoisi Superieur Louis XIV Perle D'Or Gruss an Aachen…
Continue reading ➞ Rose Heaven – The New Season at Petersham Nurseries
The River Test runs over chalk through the grounds of the ancient Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire. Crystal clear waters, live with fish and overhung with willow... stop for a minute and enjoy the birdsong. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mottisfont/
The Rose Gardens at Mottisfont Abbey The gardens at Mottisfont Abbey are a year-round attraction. However, during June, when their unrivalled collection of Old-fashioned roses fills two (well, almost three) walled gardens with scent and dazzle the eyes with colour. It is an unforgettable experience. These roses have a historical importance beyond their beauty. They…
Continue reading ➞ Paradise is a Rose Garden – Mottisfont Abbey
A joint visit today, back to Mottisfont Abbey and on to the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in Hampshire. This Mottisfont photo gallery taken on a rather damp 21st June last year but looking superb. April cold and then lots of rain held back the flowering of the mostly once-blooming rose collection (the main show was…
Continue reading ➞ Mottisfont Abbey, Hampshire
The Teddington Gardener 