The Exbury Gardens, located in Hampshire, England, are a real treat for the eyes! In fact, in December of 2011, they were awarded the Hudson's Heritage UK "Best Garden" award.
The gardens contains over 200 acres of rhododendrons, azaleas, and a plethora of rare trees and shrubs. They are the inspiration of Lionel Nathan de Rothschild who passed away in 2009. Today, his grandchildren carry on the legacy.
There are several ways to view the gardens. You can walk on the numerous trails, you can ride a chauffer-driven buggy, or you can do my favorite thing: ride a miniature steam locomotive through the gardens. 
The train will pass through the Summer Lane garden. From there, you'll catch glimpses of the rock garden, followed by the wildlife pond. Next, you'll pass the plant nursery and exotic fruit patch. Then you'll pass by the sunflower field, which if you visit in the summer, is just amazing! Finally, you'll loop around the oldest tree in the garden: the Domesday Yew. The train ride takes about 20 minutes.
The gardens are open daily from March to early November. Admission for adults is 14 British pounds and 4 British pounds for children.
Gorgeous! What time of year do all those bushes bloom?
ReplyDeleteThese pictures were taken in May - late spring.
DeleteIt looks like an enchanted garden. I would love to go there and sit for a while just daydreaming!
ReplyDeleteI think the colors are just gorgeous!
DeleteThe prettiest colors of flowers so far.
ReplyDeletedreamweaver
Yes. There's a reason the garden won that award!
DeleteYour blog has become my favorite to visit. It's always so pretty and makes me smile.
ReplyDeleteAwww, that's so nice. Flowers and gardens make me smile, too!
Deletewow gorgeous
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful gardens these are! Now I should go outside.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you and I hope you're enjoying the Challenge!
KarenG
A to Z Challenge Host
I am enjoying the challenge. Happy gardening!
DeleteOk, I feel like I'm going to be saying this a lot throughout this challenge, but these gardens are definitely my favourite so far! I'm actually moving house to somewhere near Hampshire this month, so with a little luck, I'll be able to visit those gardens :)
ReplyDeleteNikki – inspire nordic
Lucky you! You'll have these gardens practically in your backyard!
DeleteThis is too beautiful to be real. It's like a fairyland.
ReplyDeleteIt does look like a fairyland!
DeleteOooh, so pretty. I'd love to go write there. Great post and happy A-Z blogging.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's a great place to take a pen and notebook and write for a few hours!
DeleteI'm enjoying your posts so much. Would it be silly to go overseas just to visit some gardens?
ReplyDeleteHeck, no! Do it. It's a ton of fun, and there are other things to do, too, in case your travel buddy doesn't share your love of gardens.
DeleteThis is beautiful! I love A-Z get to travel all over the place from my comforts of home. Thanks for your sweet comments about my grandbaby Eden Jade. I think she is beautiful but I guess I am a little prejudiced. lol
ReplyDeleteuntil next time... nel
This is my favorite of the gardens you've shown so far. The trees look lovely for climbing!
ReplyDeleteWow! The colors in this garden are incredible!
ReplyDelete