Open: Sunday 27th June, 11am – 5pm, and Saturday 10th July, 2pm – 6.30pm.


Admission: £3, children free. Home made teas, and plants for sale.


No WC available, but there is a public WC in Tisbury. Telephone: 01747 870019


Mews Cottage


If you love the combined colours of agapanthus, penstemons, hardy orchids, watsonias and so much more, then head to Mews Cottage on the Isle of Portland to see them in their summer glory.


Peter and Jill Pitman have been busy reorganising their garden, with new paths and new beds for their National Collection of cultivar penstemons. They also have made a raised crevice bed for species penstemon grown from APS seed.


There are more than a hundred agapanthus in this high- summer garden that has several openings between June and the end of August. The Pitmans also welcome visitors by appointment during this period.


Light lunches are available on the garden opening of 10th July and 14th August, with home made teas on the other dates.


Location: Mews Cottage, 34 Easton Street, Portland, Dorset DT5 1BT. Three miles south of Weymouth, at the top of the Island of Portland. Find the cottage 50 yards past the Punchbowl Inn, in a small lane on the left. Park in the main street and follow the signs.


Open: Sundays 13th June, 27th June, 2pm – 5pm. Saturday 10th July, 11am – 4pm. Sundays 11th July, 25th July, 2pm – 5pm. Saturday 14th August, 11am – 4pm. Sundays 15th and 29th August, 2pm – 5pm. Visitors also welcome by appointment.


Admission: £2, children free. Teas/light lunches according to the date of opening. Plants for sale. No dogs.


Telephone: 01305 820377 Email: penstemon@waitrose.com


...And over the border – Mottisfont


June, roses... and Mottisfont. This is the peak time to see roses in all their lovely colours tumbling over walls, in the borders and over designed structures round Mottisfont Abbey near Romsey.


There is plenty to see at the National Trust property all through the season but it is at its glorious best in June, when visitors flock to see its National Collection of old-fashioned roses.


It gets so busy that it might be best to plan your visit so that you see the garden on a sunny weekday afternoon or early evening as the gardens are open until 8pm during much of June (see details below).


The former Augustinian priory dating from the 13th century lies beside the fast-flowing and picturesque River Test, with beautiful parkland and formal grounds near the house.


It once belonged to a society hostess and arts patron Maude Russell in the last century, a woman with a rather racy image. Gilbert Russell and his wife engaged Rex Whistler to transform the former entrance hall in the south west wing into a Gothic drawing room, with fantastic trompe l’oeil murals around the walls.


Like many country houses, Mottisfont was commandeered


Mottisfont is famous as the place to find the National Collection of ancestral species and 19th century rose cultivars


during World War II, becoming a hospital for 80 patients. Gilbert Russell died in 1942, and in 1957 Mrs Russell gave the Abbey to the National Trust, although she lived there until 1972.


Graham Stuart Thomas was brought in by the Trust in 1971 to transform the old walled kitchen garden into the National Collection of historic shrub roses. What visitors see today is due to his efforts: the deep yellow rose, Graham Stuart Thomas, is named after him.


Today Mottisfont is famous as the place to find the National Collection of ancestral species and 19th century rose cultivars, awarded by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens.


But there is more to see at Mottisfont in quieter moments in June away from the glory of the roses. Geoffrey Jellicoe, the landscape architect, designed part of the garden in 1936, the paved walk to the north front and the yew octagon at the west end, from which an avenue of pleached limes runs north along a bank above a croquet lawn.


Near one side of the house is another connection to its 20th century history. The gardener and designer Norah Lindsay, another society lady, created the small formal parterre with its radiating lines in a classic pattern.


The beech circle was planted to the north west of the stables in the 1960s to replace a similar feature once growing around the old Ice House. Different eras have made their mark on Mottisfont’s long history.


During June there is an exhibition of water colourists’ work, during the season there is an open air theatre, there are guided walks and talks, and estate walks.


Location: Mottisfont, near Romsey, Hampshire S051 OLP. Signposted off the A3057 Romsey to Stockbridge road, four and a half miles north of Romsey. Also signposted off the B3087 Romsey to Broughton road. Parking free.


Open until 31st October, 11am – 5pm. Open until 8pm from 7th June – 20th June, also shop, café and house at certain times, so check. Not open some Fridays – contact for details. Limited winter weekend openings of garden, shop and café, again contact for details.


Admission: free to NT members. Contact the number below for information on tickets and concessions for non-NT members. Dogs only allowed on the estate walks, but these go on for six miles.


Telephone: 01794 340757 Email: mottisfont@nationaltrust.org.uk


Country Gardener 17


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