A Century Of Vision And Resolve

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.

- Mark Griffiths

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.