Water Birds
25th Oct 2018Wildlife enthusiast and resident volunteer at Exbury, Juliet, describes the different types of water birds that inhabit the estuary.
Moths
23rd Aug 2018Wildlife enthusiast and resident volunteer at Exbury, Juliet, describes the different types of moths that inhabit our gardens.
Summer butterflies and wildlife
9th Aug 2018Wildlife enthusiast and resident volunteer at Exbury, Juliet, describes how the recent dry weather is affecting summer wildlife.
Rarely seen Purple Hairstreak butterflies
8th Aug 2018Wildlife enthusiast and resident volunteer at Exbury, Juliet, describes a recent rare wildlife sighting: Purple Hairstreak butterflies.
Bumblebees Blog - June 2018
21st Jun 2018The late spring this year has not been kind to our insects. They seem to be in lower numbers than usual, which is bad news for all the other species in the food chain above them. Birds, for instance, need copious supplies of insects to feed their young, and flowering plants need their pollinators.
House Martins - June 2018
21st Jun 2018The colony of house martins which nest on the water tower at the Estate Office entrance to Exbury Gardens is one of the largest in Hampshire. The nests are tucked up under the overhang of the roof on all four sides of the tower.
June 7th - Early Odonata (damselflies and dragonflies)
19th Jun 2018The recent hot weather has encouraged the spring damselflies and dragonflies to emerge. One of the most noticeable of the blue damselflies loves to bask on waterlily leaves or other floating vegetation
May Bird Blog - 29th May 2018
29th May 2018The annual bird walk, which is held in May to estimate the number of species that breed in the Gardens, recorded 51 species this year.
Spring Blog - 30th April 2018
30th Apr 2018The variable weather this spring has made life a little confusing for both plants and animals. Breeding and migration were put on hold when the snow came...
Head Gardener's Blog - Spring
23rd Apr 2018After one of the wettest, coldest and longest winters that anyone can remember it comes as a massive relief to finally see the Gardens springing into life.
Nest Boxes - February 2018
8th Feb 2018The nest boxes on Jubilee Hill were cleaned out at the beginning of the month. There was nesting material in three of them, but no obvious signs of an old nest, whereas three had clearly been used in 2016.
Fungi Surveys - November 2017
22nd Nov 2017- The annual fungus survey at Exbury Gardens was completed this week. Two groups, the Lymington Naturalists and the Hampshire Recording Group scoured...
Autumn in the Gardens
16th Oct 2017One of the many privileges of being Head Gardener at Exbury is being able to watch the garden change throughout the seasons, this is never more obvious or beautiful than in October and November when the transition between summer and autumn begins...
The English Garden Magazine
12th Oct 2017We were delighted and very honoured to feature in the October issue of The English Garden magazine and are very pleased to share it with you.
Autumn Glories Blog - 2nd October 2017
2nd Oct 2017A kingfisher has been frequenting Top Pond. It sits in a tree on the island. Given the size of the carp in the lake you might wonder what it is eating. The fact is that kingfishers take a wide variety of prey including insects, spiders and centipedes.
White Butterflies - 29 August 2017
29th Aug 2017White butterflies are much in evidence at this time of year. Most people know the familiar "Cabbage White" but in fact this is two species: Large White (Pieris brassicae) and Small White. In appearance, the Large White can be identified by size, by more extensive black on the wing tips and in the female by two large black spots on the upper wing...
High Summer - 17 August 2017
17th Aug 2017As with any garden, the weather at Exbury plays a huge part in how the garden is presented to the visitors and of course how the plants behave. This happens in a myriad of different ways from how they form buds for next year’s show of flowers...
Bumblebees - 15th August 2017
15th Aug 2017There's more to a bumblebee than you might think. To begin with there are 22 species in the British Isles, of which 7 are common and widespread. You could expect to find all these seven species in the average garden.
More About Butterflies - 1st August 2017
1st Aug 2017This summer has been kind to butterflies, or it was until the recent rains and squally weather. In spite of this deterioration there are still good numbers flying...
Summer Butterflies - 10 July 2017
10th Jul 2017This warm summer has give the butterflies a bit of a boost. For the first time in several years White Admirals were gliding along the wooded edge of Jubilee Pond. This is one of our less common species...
Mammals - 3 July 2017
3rd Jul 2017It's always a treat to come across a mammal when walking around the Gardens: birds, bees, grasshoppers, butterflies are all expected and easy to see. But coming across this young fawn lying up in its "form" in the long grass was completely unexpected...
Flowering Update for Mid Summer
22nd Jun 2017In 1919 when the Gardens at Exbury were first laid out by Lionel de Rothschild it very soon became apparent that although the pH of the soil was very favourable for the cultivation of Rhododedrons the climate was far from perfect and for this we have to thank the Isle Of Wight...
Dragons and Damsels - 21 June 2017
21st Jun 2017Damselflies can be seen around the edges of most of the ponds at Exbury. They are slender, threadlike insects, mainly coloured blue or red, which when perched hold their wings along their body...
Spring Butterflies - 8th June 2017
8th Jun 2017A good variety of spring butterflies were on the wing in late May. Especially pleasing was the sighting of a Green Hairstreak. This tiny butterfly actually looks brown in flight, which is the colour of the top side of its wings...
Flowering Conditions - Early Summer
26th May 2017There was great excitement this week in the gardens team when we received a parcel of young Vireyas, a little sub-group within the Rhododendron genus...
Deciduous Trees & Their Flowers - 22 May 2017
22nd May 2017At this time of year it's worth looking closely at deciduous trees, including our native trees, which are producing the flowers which later turn into seeds, nuts or fruit. Most are not flamboyant and some are scarcely noticeable...
Tadpoles Blog - 9 May 2017
9th May 2017North Pond where there is now a railway halt has a good crop of tadpoles this year. They are "toadpoles", which differ from "frogpoles" in that as they develop they stay darker...
Song Thrushes - 5 May 2017
5th May 2017Song thrushes are in full voice all over the Gardens. Their fluty whistle, repeating each phrase twice, can be heard ringing out where they sing from high perches...
Wildflower Blog - 18 April 2017
18th Apr 2017Exbury has never looked so good. Blossom and colour is everywhere, and this early spring has brought on the wildlfowers as well.
Flowering Update - April 2017
14th Apr 2017As I sit and type this for the Head Gardeners notice board, the garden here at Exbury is literally bursting into life, and with it the full ambition of Lionel de Rothschild’s original design...
