Sunshine and Gardens

 'The earth laughs in Flowers', someone once said and late June brought sunshine and showers - just what a garden needs and so we headed off to explore the best that the National Trust has to offer.

Mottisfont The garden at Mottisfont | Hampshire | National Trust

Mottisfont is known for its roses and particularly its old style French roses. Fertile land and a 'font' aka spring attracted a settlement and establishment of a priory on this land in 1201. The dissolution of the monasteries under Henry V111 led to the house being gifted to Lord Sandys and throughout the ages the house and garden has served as a country seat visited by Elizabeth 1, to an artists haven through the patronage of Maud Russel a wealthy society hostess in the 1930s.

The gardens are colourful and fragrant with huge borders of lavender that beg to have hands trailed through them enclosed bright beds of blooms. Entering the rose garden is like falling into a vat of silky pungent rose petals - you see I become very poetic around flowers! It is home to the National Collection of pre-1900 shrub roses which create an annual spectacle. Over 1000 rose plants which flower once a year are planted among complimentary plants such as cool agapanthus and iris and bright lilies and dahlias. We had been once before but as the roses were dying off so felt that we hadn't seen it at its best - this year there was a magnificent display. Afterwards we sat in a shady part of the garden having lunch and was joined by a family of birds swooping quickly down to catch the crumbs. It really was a memorable day and worth the long drive.

Woolbeding Woolbeding Gardens │ Sussex | National Trust

This is another National Trust property that we have visited previously and your visit has to be planned because there is no parking on site. A shuttle bus runs between the gardens and the town car park in Midhurst and that has to be booked also the gardens are only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Its all a bit hit and miss with the unpredictable weather but we were lucky to enjoy a sunny day for our visit. The gardens are set out in a series of 'rooms' . The West Borders are planted in shades of white, blue and yellow with the walls full of climbing roses. There is a well garden, a fountain garden, the long walk and the orangery and pool garden. The various colour schemes are really interesting but the piece de resistance is the Woolbeding Glass House and silk route garden. The striking ten sided, kinetic glass house was built by Heatherwick Studio and is in the shape resembling a lotus flower or a crown and is cleverly engineered to provide sunlight and shelter as required. The winding path leading to it is called the Silk Route garden and contains 300 species and 12 distinctive regions of the silk route. It's just so different than anything I've seen before and really interesting to visit. We met a lovely couple there too - we kept bumping into them as we meandered around and ended up sitting in the glass house and chatting with them for ages. On arrival I spotted bunches of sweet peas for sale - one of my favourites - and asked for a couple of them to be put in water for when we left and their scent filled the car on the way home. A lovely day out!

Arts and Crafts House Standen House and Garden | Sussex | National Trust

We generally don't bother with touring the house when we visit National Trust properties - unless it rains and we need shelter - my interest usually lies in the garden but this was a lovely sunny day and we had also visited this house during Covid and denied the opportunity to go inside. This visit I found the house more interesting that the garden, designed by Philip Webb and interiors furnished by William Morris -  its one of the finest examples of an Arts and Crafts workmanship. It was build in 1891 for the Beale family - a thoroughly modern home with heating and and electricity. Me Beale was a successful solicitor specialising in railway work. His wife Margaret was a keen gardener and they had a large family. The sunflower motif is prevalent throughout and there was lots of arts and crafts ceramics and fabrics to ogle at. Seeing it put all together rather that the odd piece in isolation was like seeing the finished jigsaw picture. The cherry on the cake was that the garden was looking lovely too and the sausage rolls on sale were particularly good - simple pleasure!

Chartwell Chartwell - Wikipedia 

A bonus trip to Chartwell a couple of weeks ago as my son is a huge fan of Winston Churchill and he was visiting briefly. I have enjoyed both the house and gardens before and once again lady luck smiled on us as the day was just as good as summer can be in England. Obviously the attraction of the house is that the great man himself and his family lived here and its quite a modest home considering the magnitude of its owner. However its the personal touches that make a visit here special - the awe of walking in the footsteps of a man to whom England owes such a great debt. Things like his painting stool and easel set up by the pond where he spent hours trying to capture light and movement - as a painter he was very influenced by the impressionists. His desk a few metres from his bed - its well documented that he used to work when inspiration struck - often from his bed! This has been verified to me by a secretary of his who was in a book club that I belonged to. His study lined with his favourite books, family photographs and a framed photograph on his desk from Montgomery with the message, 'To Winston, my friend faithful and true on his birthday. 83 salutes from 100, 000 guns! Signed with love. A huge mark of respect from another great man. His collection of paintings and his art materials that travelled with him and evidence of his love of art surrounded him - not a valuable collection but a personal one. He was a practical man who loved pottering in the garden and got involved with brickwork and fixing and mending. The final room of the house was the kitchen - very austere and I wondered if he ever entered that room! Another great day out!

I find I learn more and retain information better when its presented in a visual way and my visits to National Trust properties really do help fill the huge gaps I have in my knowledge - particularly history. I think I slept through it at school!

Looking forward to many more visits and garden outings soooon!