Loseley Park Garden

Loseley Park has been the home of the More -Molyneux aux family for five hundred years before gifting it to the National Trust . It was built in 1560 and the walled garden was laid out in the 16th Century.
We arrived just in time for lunch in the Tithe Hall, fresh chunky sandwiches again and served inside on big round tables, perfect for conversation . I am starting to get to know a few of the conference goers now.
We had a speaker after lunch on saving collections of plants and the work going into this project in the UK and beyond.
Then we were let lose into the garden,especially the walled garden a,though I did make time to walk down to the duck ponds and along the moat walk which was on the south side of the garden designed to have  lovely views across to the flower meadow on the other side . Water lilies were out and kingfishers were in attendance so a nice area to browse through.
What can I say about this garden? It is quite special and some parts particularly so.

I loved the white garden, as beautiful as any I have seen anywhere. It may be the time of the year but everything was so healthy,well grown and robust and the arrangement of the plants was superb . The water feature and design stood out for me . White roses,hostas,hebes,hydrangeas and masses of perennials made it a special place . The sound of water running and the soft light on the silvery shades gave it an atmosphere of tranquility and romance . One could imagine the owners of the house strolling here with a pims in hand to enjoy the ambiance together.

The rose garden was a mixture of old and newer roses although it says in the literature they are old roses.This got the rosarians going.
This award winning garden was a birthday present from Mike to his wife Sarah and is planted out with over one thousand old fashioned roses, edged with box hedging and enclosed in the taller hedging and pillar roses to give it height and interest. I noted the lack of companion plantings which had given the other gardens such depth and color and I think the roses did not have the health and vigor of Mottisfont . Here they did not under plant but the plantings were quite dense . The rugosa rose was popular here with lots of varieties I could identify . Bonica was a more modern rose with a delightful color and  albas moss roses,bourbons,gallicas damask and English roses took your eye as the paths followed around the symmetrical plan of the garden . In the centre was a gazebo covered in a white climber and providing the centre point to the design.

The legendary plantswoman, Gertrude Jekyll had a passion for the place and she had a border named after her as she had a hand in planning the garden originally but not a lot of her work still can be seen today but the area reflects the structure,style and design she would have used .

There is also the largest wisteria vine I have ever seen reaching along the brick wall and covering it from top to toe in the area where the tennis court was once.

The herb garden too was a delightful space and sadly my battery had run out so no photos of this part of the garden and it's culinary and medicinal plants designed to keep the family in good health.
Vegetables and fruit also had their own space within the walls and all the produce goes to the house for catering at the cafe.
The afternoon was coming to an end and we had a final cup of tea with biscuits before climbing back aboard our coach and driving back to the Holiday Inn at Winchester.
And so ended a delightful conference,new friends and new gardens to talk about maybe better to dream of as they are on a scale beyond most of us to manage . Thank goodness for the National Trust . Amen......