Tucked away in a sheltered corner of Hampshire, Exbury Gardens is celebrating its centenary this year.
This superb garden has some of the best spring colour in Britain; one awestruck visitor described it as ‘heaven with the gates open’.
Exbury is the creation of Lionel de Rothschild, who was born into the famous banking family in 1882.
He bought the estate in 1919, recognising that Exbury’s position on the edge of the Solent created a warm microclimate that made it ideal for growing rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, magnolias and other woodland plants.
Constance Craig Smith explored Exbury Gardens (pictured) in Hampshire which was created by Lionel de Rothschild, ahead of the garden celebrating its centenary this year
Thanks to his wealth, Lionel didn’t have to rely solely on chance for the perfect growing conditions – he paid 150 men to dig spent hops into the soil, making Exbury’s naturally acidic conditions even better for the plants he wanted to cultivate.
A 100ft water tower and reservoirs were constructed to help with watering, and a railway was laid to transport the stone used to build one of the largest man-made rock gardens in Europe.
Lionel died in 1942 and later that year Exbury House was requisitioned by the Admiralty; some planning for D-Day was done there.
After the war, Lionel’s son Edmund began the task of restoring the gardens.
Edmund, who died aged 93 in 2009, was just as passionate about Exbury as Lionel had been: they were jokingly described as ‘bankers by hobby and gardeners by profession’.
The family’s passion for horticulture continues to this day.
Lionel’s grandson, also called Lionel, is chairman of the Exbury Gardens Trust and his great-granddaughter, Marie-Louise Agius, is also very involved in the garden.
‘As a child, summer holidays were spent having picnics by the ponds or in the Sundial Garden,’ she recalls.
‘Helping Grandpa [Edmund] prune the rhododendrons was my idea of heaven.’
Lionel’s great-granddaughter, Marie-Louise Agius has designed a Centenary Garden (pictured) to celebrate the anniversary of the premises
Marie-Louise, 41, only truly began to appreciate the skill of Exbury’s planting and layout when she trained as a garden designer.
‘My great-grandfather was ruthless in where he set out his plants, and if something didn’t work he either “took it for a little walk” to a different location or put it on the bonfire.
‘He had a remarkable eye. There’s no part of this 200-acre garden that hasn’t been carefully thought out.’
To celebrate Exbury’s anniversary, there’s now a Centenary Garden, which Marie-Louise designed.
It was planted in 2017 and has been maturing since then, hidden from public view.
‘It focuses on late-flowering summer perennials, with the existing yew hedge as an evergreen backdrop,’ she says.
The Queen (pictured in 2008) took a 20-minute ride through the garden on board its hugely popular steam train during a private visit in 2008
While Lionel de Roths-child’s beloved azaleas and rhododendrons are its greatest glory, Exbury is no longer just a spring garden.
In summer there are swathes of herbaceous perennials and ornamental grasses, followed by a dazzling display of autumn foliage colour.
The charming steam train that takes visitors on a 20-minute ride through the garden is hugely popular – even the Queen couldn’t resist jumping aboard when she paid a private visit to Exbury in 2008.
Marie-Louise is confident this remarkable garden will continue to prosper as it enters its second century.
‘As custodians of the garden, it’s our duty to be forward-thinking, not just five or ten years but 50 or 100,’ she says.
‘We need to ensure the extraordinary plant collection at Exbury is maintained for future generations.’
Exbury, near Southampton, is open daily, 10am-5.30pm. Entry £12.50, £5 extra for train ride. Visit exbury.co.uk for details.