Untamed woodland was brilliantly transformed into a pioneering garden at Exbury, thanks to the vision of Lionel de Rothschild. Mark Griffiths discovers how his legacy is being continued.
It all came about because of a postbox,’ Lionel de Rothschild tells me. ‘In 1912, my grandfather, Lionel, and grandmother, Marie-Louise, moved to Inchmery, not far from here. He’d become interested in growing rhododendrons and other acid-lovers, hence the appeal of this part of Hampshire, with the Solent’s climate and the New Forest’s soil.
‘Before very long, he needed to expand the garden, but he ran into an obstacle—a public postbox that, on absolutely no account, could be moved. It seemed he was stuck. then a solution presented itself: this place, Exbury, Inchmery’s far larger neighbor, came up for sale. My grandfather acquired it in 1919. He renovated and enlarged its house as a home for his family and began making its land fit for his plants.’
We’re strolling through the outcome of that purchase: Exbury Gardens, which celebrates its centenary this year. Adorning each grove and glade along our route are treasures from a collection of more than 30,000 species, hybrids, and cultivars that is unique in its scientific and cultural importance.
However, Exbury is even more than a great collection. It works, in both senses, as a garden: as a place of consummate artistry and exquisite beauty and as a producer, pioneering garden styles and plants that have been adopted the world over. Inchmery’s immovable postbox ought to be stuffed with thank-you letters.
Exbury’s creator, Lionel de Rothschild, described himself as a ‘banker by hobby but a gardener by profession’. This was characteristically self-effacing. He and his brother Anthony were partners in N. M. Rothschild and Sons, the mighty bank founded by their great-grandfather. In horticulture, Lionel was more than a match for the best professionals.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 08, 2019-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 08, 2019-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds