Hillier Gardens (from Scene South)

I'M a big fan of a little peace and quiet now and then. However, I find it's increasingly hard to come by. But moving away from the busy entrance of Hillier Gardens and their lovely restaurant, which really does serve exceptionally good food, there's 180 acres of tranquility to be explored here.

I have become a fairly regular visitor as the place changes so regularly. Whatever the season there's always something different to interest visitors.

During my recent spring visit I was treated to the sight of flowering camellias, magnolias, rhododendrons and azaleas.

But the year starts off with witch hazel, poking its way through the frost. The flowering summer shrubs are spectacular, but my favourite time of year here is autumn where the fiery colours really come out.

The lakes and the Gurkha Memorial Garden are great and lovely Jermyn's House is always worth a visit - if only to nose at the numerous wedding parties who choose this beautiful setting for their big day.

The gardens are named in honour of their founder, the late Sir Harold Hillier, who gave his plant collection to Hampshire County Council to be held as a charitable trust.

The unique collection now features some 42,000 plants - 12,000 different types, including the largest winter garden of its kind in Europe and an extensive collection of Nepalese plants.

I can't help but feel this is an underused treasure, which Sir Harold gifted to us for us to enjoy.

How? By car most easily. The Gardens are situated between the villages of Ampfield and Braishfield, three miles north-east of Romsey. They are signposted on brown tourist signs from Romsey town centre, the A3090 Winchester to Romsey road, and the A3057 Stockbridge to Romsey road.

Refreshments: Home cooked meals and light refreshments at the Pavilion Restaurant. Jermyn's House also houses a tea room and lawn cafe.

Essential: Weather essentials as there is little shelter. Money in case you're tempted by the art often on display, the lovely little craft and gift shop or the garden centre.

What are these links for?

If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.

At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.

Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.

Newsquest
Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy © Copyright 2001-2008 Newsquest Media Group A Gannett Company
This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network