Every week the staff here at Exbury will be compiling their must-sees in the gardens, focusing on different areas or seasonal plants. We hope that you will be able to use this as a snappy guide when visiting and that our favourite viewpoints, blooms and garden features might become your favourites too.
Focus 14th June: Herbaceous Garden, Top Pond, Centenary Garden, late-flowering rhododendrons and Iris Garden
The Herbaceous Garden is coming to life! This summer garden is brimming with many different varieties of peony, all blooming at the moment. Other fantastic plants are also beginning to flower in our large herbaceous borders including flag irises, Knipfofia (red hot pokers) and foxgloves.
There's lots to see around Top Pond at the moment, and that's beside the playful (and hungry) fish!
First, there's the beautiful white wisterias around the edge of the pond itself. Their scent is absolutely delectable and they look so delicate by the side of the water.
An exquisite specimen of Copper beech (Fagus sylvatica 'purpurea') overhangs Top Pond, creating these absolutely stunning reflections in the water.
A number of flowering dogwoods are blooming around Top Pond at the moment, varieties include the pink Cornus florida rubra and two Cornus kousa, the star-shaped one named 'Milky Way'.
It's always surprising to see the Centenary Garden spring to life from its humble start to the year to these beautiful scenes in June. Now in its third year open to the public, the Centenary Garden is quite the feast for the senses: There are ornamental grasses that sway with the wind, beautiful flowers with fantastic scents and architectural details to the symmetrical design that are just immediately satisfying.
Some of our later-flowering rhododendrons are blooming beautifully at the moment, with white, red and pink varieties still emerging. With the recent warm weather, we do anticipate the rhododendrons not lasting too much longer, so visit now to see them this year!
Our Iris Garden was revamped a couple of years ago and has really some into its own this year! We have a beautiful array of irises and Arum-lily's around the edge of a small pond, in a beautifully-situated shaded valley - these photographs really don't do this garden justice. Now is definitely a great time to schedule a break in this area on one of the oak benches, watching the dragonflies enjoying themselves.
Purchase your Friends of Exbury membership for just £48 today and discover 200 acres of natural beauty and wildlife all year round.
|
Exbury Gardens, The Estate Office
Exbury, Southampton, Hampshire, SO45 1AZ
+44 (0)23 8089 1203
For our latest news, flowering updates, sneak previews of future projects and details of events and competitions subscribe to the Exbury Gardens e-newsletter
Contact us today for details on membership benefits