Lionel de Rothschild bought the Exbury Estate, located in the New Forest in 1919. Within just twenty years he had created an impressive woodland garden of some 200 acres, bred over 1200 hybrids – many of which still survive today – and helped introduce the revered Rhododendron yakushimanum.
With spent hops, Rothchild’s team of gardeners improved the naturally acidic soil to create the perfect growing conditions for the vast collection of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, cotoneasters, magnolias, viburnums and many other woodland loving plants. The garden with its, twenty miles of pathway, has one of the largest man-made rock gardens in Europe which was constructed by installing a temporary railway to transport rocks to the 2.5 acre site – taking four years to build and plant. Thousands of rhododendrons have been planted over the years and well over 1,000 hybrids have been raised by three generations of the Rothschild family. The gardens also boast many rare trees and National Collections for Nyssa and Oxydendrum.
Garden restoration project
Seventy years ago, in spring 1955 Edmund de Rothschild first opened Exbury Gardens to the public, sharing the horticultural legacy that began in in 1919 with his father Lionel de Rothschild, a passionate plantsman who was described as ‘a banker by hobby but a gardener by profession’.
To mark the 70th anniversary of Exbury Gardens of opening to the public, a ‘lost corner’ of the garden, comprising of 6.6 acres will be restored. Part of Lionel Rothchild’s original garden, this part of the garden has remained unrestored, and inaccessible to visitors, since the war.
The two-year project aims to restore public access and uncover the wonderful, rare plants and trees, glades and vistas it contains, originally created in the 1920s when the garden was established.
“This section of the garden was originally planted in the 1920s by Lionel de Rothschild, a visionary horticulturist, and contains some truly magnificent specimens of trees, and many beautiful flowering shrubs. During the war years much of the 200-acre garden was obviously neglected, and when Lionel’s son Edmund was handed back the keys in 1955, he was faced with a very different garden to the one he’d grown up in. Edmund needed to kick-start the restoration of the gardens and faced with the monumental task of bringing it back to life, he opened the gates to the public for the first time.
“This restoration represents one of the final pieces of the original gardens to be reinstated. Over the next couple of years, we’re really looking forward to uncovering and sharing its hidden botanical treasures with visitors. We hope to add another layer to the gardens’ already rich history for the benefit of generations to come,” explained Exbury’s Head gardener, Tom Clarke.
A new anniversary garden trail is also being created to showcase the unusual trees, landmarks and horticultural treasures in the garden, celebrating each of the seven decades the garden has been open to the public. The garden also hosts a series of events during the year, such as the Exbury Festival of Music, craft workshops and steam railway extravaganza – the details of which can be found on their website.