            | |||||||||||
|
Longstock Park Water Gardens 
|
|||||||||||
|
Longstock Park Water Gardens tel: 01264 810894 Area: Hampshire |
 |
||||||||||
| Visitor Information | www.longstockpark.co.uk -- email: | ||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
Longstock Park Water Gardens |
 |
||||||||||
| Opening Days and Hours | |||||||||||
1st & 3rd Sunday of every month Apr - Sept inclusive; 2pm - 5pm. (open on behalf of a charity) |
|||||||||||
| Parties
/ Coaches: Yes |
Groups
/ Coaches need Appointment: Yes |
||||||||||
House
Open for Viewing: No |
National
Garden Scheme days: No |
||||||||||
| Best
Times of Year to Visit: May - June July - August |
To
see: Azaleas, rhododendrons Water lilies |
||||||||||
| Admission Prices | |||||||||||
| Adult £5; Child (under 16) £1. All proceeds go to charity concernedsee own website for list | |||||||||||
| Onsite Facilities | |||||||||||
| Parking:
Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes |
Shop:
Yes Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: No |
Teas:
Yes Light Refreshment: Yes Picnics: No |
Dogs
Allowed: No On Lead only: No Special Events: No |
||||||||
| Other
Facilities: Guide dogs only. |
|||||||||||
| Garden Features | |||||||||||
| English Heritage Garden Grade: | |||||||||||
| National Collection: Buddleja and Clematis Viticella. | |||||||||||
| Description of Garden | Designer:
|
||||||||||
| The River Test, flowing nearby, feeds this exquisite seven acre water garden. The winding paths and little bridges taking the visitor from island to island, reveal wonderful collections of water irises, lilies, astilbes, primulas and many other water-loving plants. The walled garden features herbaceous borders, a rose pergola and the collection of clematis viticella. There is also a six acre arboretum. On request, the National Collection of buddleias with over 100 varieties may be visited. | |||||||||||
| History of Garden | |||||||||||
| The main lake came into being by accident. In 1870, Alfred and Arthur East, the owners of Longstock House, dredged gravel from the banks of the River Test in order to build a private road to the property, creating the lake in the process. When the Easts sold the Longstock Estate in 1914, Reginald Beddington, the son of the new owner, decided to make an aesthetic feature of the water. In the 1920's, it was channelled into a central canal flanked by two small lakes and the margins were planted with perennial beds. The water garden you see now, however, was only created after John Spedan Lewis acquired the estate in 1946. With the help of botanist Terry Jones, whose keen eye for colour was invaluable when it came to selecting inspired combinations of plants, Spedan Lewis began an ambitious plan of redevelopment. He trebled the garden in size, adding a wealth of detail to the main lake with promontories, islands and bridges. The water-logged soil meant all the work had to be done by hand, and it was ten long years before the project was completed. Longstock's head water gardener, Jim Saunders - originally Spedan Lewis's butler - organised the digging and the garden remained under his stewardship until his retirement in 1983. Today there is still a strong sense of continuity: despite some damage caused by the storms of 1987 and 1990, much of Spedan Lewis's original concept remains unchanged. |
|||||||||||
| Nearby Hampshire Hotels, Facilities & Amenities | |||||||||||
| Hotels
& Accommodation: Three Cups, Stockbridge |
Restaurants: Peat Spade, Longstock Game Larder, Stockbridge Mayfly, Testcombe |
||||||||||
| Inns & Pubs: Peat Spade, Longstock Mayfly, Testcombe White Hart, Stockbridge |
Villages / Towns
/ Sightseeing: |
||||||||||
  - Hampshire |
|||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
||||||||
|
*Information
Updates
Garden guide and review © Gardens-Guide.com and Armchair Travel Co Ltd Armchair
Travel Co Ltd also operates these Click HERE for more details
0032_longstockparkwater.jpg - Longstock Park Water Gardens (Hampshire)
|
|||||||||||