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Garden Name: Sir Harold Hillier Gardens & Arboretum
Last Modified: 09/02/2010
Garden ID: 0179

pic: 0179_haroldhillier.jpg

Owner: Mr. Tim Brooks
Address:
Jermyns Lane
Ampfield
Romsey
Postcode: SO51 0QA
County: Hampshire

tel: 01794-368787
fax: 01794-368027
website: www.hillier.hants.gov.uk
email: info {at} hilliergardens.org.uk

Features: 
Champion Trees
Ghurka Memorial Garden
Winter Garden.

English Heritage Grade:


Opening Times:
All Year; Daily; 
Summer: 10am - 6pm or dusk if earlier, last admission 5pm
Summer late opening every Thursday until 7.30pm in June, July and August
Nov/Dec: 10am - 5pm. last admission 4pm
Closed Christmas and Boxing day.

Best Times of Year to Visit: 
A garden for all seasons, open throughout the year.

To see: 


National Collection: 
11 National plant collections including:-
Quercus - Oaks, Ligustrum - Privets, Cornus - Dogwoods, Photinia, Lithocarpus, Pinus - Pines, Cotoneaster, Hamamelis - Witch Hazels, Carpinus - Hornbeams, and Corylus - Hazels. Hillier plants.

National Garden Scheme days: No
Comments: 

Parties / Coaches: Yes 
Comments: 

Viewing by Appointment: Yes
Comments:  

House Open for Viewing: No
Comments: 

Admission Prices:
Adult £8.25; child under 16 free; Concessions £7.15; Groups of 10+ £6.60pp. Friends of Kew free
Guided tours for groups £60.
Membership: individual ticket £28.50pa; joint £52.50pa

Parking: Yes
Lavatories: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Shop: Yes
Plants for Sale: Yes
Lunches: Yes
Teas: Yes
Refreshments: Yes
Picnics: Yes
Dogs allowed: No
Only on Lead: No
Events: Yes

Other Facilities:
New Visitor & Education Pavilion.


Designer: Sir Harold Hillier
Description of Garden:
Promoted as "gardens for all seasons", the collection provides a stunning range of colour and interest throughout the year and features 11 National Plant Collections, the Gurkha Memorial Garden and the largest Winter Garden in Europe which has over 650 different types of plants. The magnificent collection of over 42,000 plants from temperate regions around the world grow in a mixture of formal and informal landscapes set in 180 acres of rolling Hampshire countryside. The gardens contain a fine conifer collection and its National Collection of Witch Hazel is the largest such display in any garden in Britain. The Witch Hazel flowers from late December and survives the harshest winter.

The Gardens run a progressive education policy for a wide range of user groups from primary school children to horticultural experts providing further knowledge and understanding and enhancing enjoyment of the Gardens.


History: 
The garden was established in 1953 by the distinguished plantsman Sir Harold Hillier. 

Sir Harold Hillier was born into horticulture and from an early age spent his childhood building an encyclopaedic knowledge of the plant world. In 1952, he purchased Jermyn's House, an 18th century manor house surrounded by 40 acres of fertile land. It was here that he was able to create his garden for all seasons - a personal 'stamp collection' of rare plants from all over the world. Over the next 30 years Sir Harold Hillier's avid pursuit of horticultural expansion took him to all corners of the globe and he introduced a stunning range of new and rare species from as far afield as Japan, Korea, Mexico and South Africa. Keen to ensure that his unique collection was not lost, he formed a charitable trust and, in 1977, gifted the Gardens to Hampshire County Council.

Local Inns: 
Star Inn, East Tytherley

Accomodation: 


Restaurants: 
Star Inn, East Tytherley

Village/Town/Sightseeing: 
Romsey has a selection of pubs, restaurants and hotels