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 7th June: climbing wisterias, rhododendrons in the Rock and American Gardens and feasts of colour by Jubilee Hill.

1. Clambering wisterias growing in unique places

Exbury Gardens is full of unique viewpoints and rare plants and this large wisteria is no exception. It's been clambering up both a Yew and an Oak for half a century and is definitely one of Exbury's distinctive and defining plants. You'll find this one (pictured above) at the crossroads by the Wildlife Ponds, which is fairly close to Exbury North train station.

We also have stunning wisteria by our Plant Centre and Visitor Entrance growing over this pergola shown below. And of course the unforgetable Wisteria Floribunda down at the Sundial Garden, which was featured in last week's article, click here to read and view. 

You can also see our fantastic wisterias in bloom in this brilliant YouTube video:

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2. Remarkable rhododendrons in the Rock Garden 

As you walk up to the Rock Garden from Exbury Central Steam Railway direction, you'll see this wall of rhododendrons on the right hand side. The combinations of red, purple, pink and even white, make for a spectacular display of rhododendrons - a great place to stand and have photographs taken!

This path leads you into the Rock Garden from the top, by the steam railway tracks, where you can stop and wave as the train goes past. Then you can walk down stairs made of Pembrokeshire stone into the heart of this historic garden, where you'll see this stunning pink dwarf rhododendron, with its distinctive fuschia stripes, on the left-hand side. At the very bottom of these 'stairs' is a lovely white Cistus, we managed to capture a bee with 'pollen pellets' on its legs, just about to land on one of the delicate flowers - nature at its finest!

The Rock Garden here at Exbury isn't necessarily somewhere you would immediately expect to see lots of rhododendrons. However, it is home to many dwarf or alpine rhododendrons, that have smaller flowers and fuzzy undersides to their leaves, like these pictured.

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3. Feasts of colour by Jubilee Hill

Jubilee Hill is a stunning wooded area with streams running down from our wildlife ponds to the aptly named Jubilee Pond at the bottom, which is home to ducks and other wildlife during the warmer months. Walking down the Main Drive you'll come across this delightful mix of azaleas and acers (above). Crossing the drive, onto the grass and following the stream downhill, this beautiful view of primulas and white azaleas (below) will emerge, and behind that huge red, white and purple rhododendrons!

Next, cross over the stream on a small gravelled bridge to find a feast of colourful rhododendrons awaiting you on the other side. To name but a few that are blooming here, there's Rhododendron 'Nicholas', 'A. Bedford', the pink 'Cosmopolitan' and we think an orange Cinnabarinum variety.

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4. Archways of delicate rhododendrons

Walking from Augustinii Corner towards Dragonfly Pond you'll pass underneath a number of rhododendron archways, made by this delicate pink species. This path, which is generally very quiet, is littered with a carpet of fallen petals and lofty rhododendrons overhead.

On this same path, by the entrance to Dragonfly Pond, there are also Mountain Laurel beginning to bloom (below). Beautiful as it is, these plants are toxic if digested, so please be careful around them, particularly with children and dogs.

 

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5. Rhododendrons by the train tracks - our American Garden

What an area this is for stunning rhododendrons at the moment! There are so many gorgeous plants blooming, particularly around Exbury North Station. Here are some of our favourites in the American Garden this week!

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Would you like to experience the changing seasons at Exbury this year?

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