That after photo makes me feel kind of sick....I'm sure it will be gorgeous when you are done. I've seen what you've accomplished with that massive hole in your own garden.

Carol

Looks like a lot of work ahead, but I'm confident Mottisfont will get put together with the hard work of you and your team and look beautiful again soon. It's always fascinating to see the "before" and "after" shots, so keep us all posted of the progress.

WHOA!

The garden of eden vs the wasteland! What a contrast! Can't wait to see the new and improved garden.

In the first pic, what is the lovely hanging overhead on the arches?

Kate

Hi Kate - the rambler is 'Adelaide d'Orleans'.

Best wishes
Jon

Jon -- so you need an apprentice? I'm there. I can get my "green card" super easy...I was born in Swindon. To boot, I can give excellent medical care on the side (I'm an RN).

Your soil is making me envious.

:0)

Patty. (Austin, TX)

I would be so cool to have one of those in my garden. Surely they let you have a go?

I am so glad I kept reading because the second picture made me so sick at heart. How often is there no third picture. The water department here is offering financial assistance to people who want to hardscape there lawn and garden areas.Occaisionally you see an entire block of people who've taken it up and of course increased the heat in their homes, upped their AC bills and encouraged a dessert climate.
I have high hopes in your eventual restoration.
la

Very daunting, but it's a known fact that it always has to get a lot worse before it gets better. I do believe you have arrived at that stage.

I've always wondered why they chose to plant Raubritter there when it's out of bloom for most of the year. Even in bloom that rose has never made my heart go pitter patter. But reluctantly even I must admit it looks spectacular in the first picture.

Ingrid

It will be even more beautiful when you're done, Jon. It is fun to see the 'bones' of a place. Post after pictures, though, okay?- so we don't worry!

Your first image really brightened my day, simply beautiful, thank you.

LIR

Well even a movie star can look like heck when waking up in the morning. Everything will be back to the usual beauty soon, I am sure. I love the pictures, thank you.

Thanks, all.

Graham Thomas wrote of 'Raubritter': 'At Mottisfont it is in full sun, billowing over the side of a pool at the centre of the old rose garden. It is the only rose I know which could be controlled to the shape that I needed for this position.'

When such a specific planting has been made, and documented in a book treating this garden, I suppose we have an obligation to be faithful to that design. That does not mean that we are restricted to conserve every aspect of the garden on a plant-by-plant basis, but that we understand and hold true to the intention and 'palette' of the designer. The 'only once flowering' objection cannot really be sustained in a garden holding the National Collection of shrub roses pre-1900 - the majority of which only bloom once. Indeed, the rambler in the photo above is also once-flowering. Of course, there are many parts of the garden featuring repeat-flowering roses, but some of the iconic 'pictures' of the garden - such as Constance Spry above the white bench, or Complicata climbing an apple tree - would be greatly missed. Sometimes the moment - however brief - must suffice!

However, it may well be true that if Graham Thomas were asked to design a garden to the Trust's requirements today, far more emphasis would be laid on late season roses. It was originally planned for the garden to be open in June only, with an expectation of some 10,000 visitors in a year, whereas we now can reach that number on a sunny weekend. Much of the work we have done in the last decade has been to extend the season of interest at both ends without compromising the beauty of the original design.

I'm just so pleased that some of the underlying 'infrastructure' of the garden has been repaired and improved in time for what may be a special year for us - the centenary of GST's birth.

Best wishes
Jon

WOW--the second picture frightened me until I read what the project was. I'm sure it will be even more beautiful when completed.
I've seen many pictures of the bench with Constance Spry. It was one of these pictures that convinced me that I needed that beauty. Now I just need the bench ---LOL

Florence

I'm with Duchesse, love seeing the bones. I'm crazy but it looks pretty to me. I always loved those English Garden spreads taken in the dead of winter. Of course this is more drastic, but those box hedges really made for narrow paths it seems. I feel privileged to see the 'before'.

The first three or four times I went to Vintage, I always had to ask Phillip, 'what is that beautiful pink rose spilling over the ground with the perfectly round blooms?' ...to me, it stood out from all the other roses around it. I don't need to ask anymore, I know it's Raubritter.

A

Just for you, Andrea. Ingrid, don't look :)
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Best wishes
Jon

Jon, you mentioned that you've been decreasing the size of the boxwood for the last two winters. I've considered boxwood for my garden but discarded the idea because it would take up too much space. Your images make me re-think the idea. How long does it take them to grow to the size you show in the first photo? How often do you cut them back and how much do you remove without risking a loss? Do they sometimes die and if so, do you have mature plants waiting in the greenhouse?

Thanks for your help. It's always a wonder to see what you're doing at Mottisfont and thinking about how it applies here.

Best,
Sue

Ahh, this is a favorite part of the garden for me, standing in the center and looking around. And isn't this where David Stone holds his plant surgery? I loved watching him talking to visitors and answering questions.

I think your second picture is of great importance. I like to see the bones also, but isn't this a reminder that gardens do need repair and change from time to time? I love the fact that gardens both great and small are everchanging landscapes, only somewhat controlled by the gardner, but subject to the whim of Nature.

Not quite as grand as your picture above

{{gwi:218646}}

Carol

I don't think there could possibly have been a more perfect rose for that spot. I've been sighing over that photo in books for years. It's lovely.

Carol

That 'Raubritter' looks fantastic by the side of that fountain. It's really an incredible sight.

Randy

Sue, sorry I missed your questions. It's hard to say how long it took the box to reach the size in the first photo - it wasn't meant to :) You can see that it had become impossible for wheelchairs, etc. The hedges have been there a long time - certainly since the '30's and probably before, and alhough they are cut every year they will still increase in size by a small amount each season. We finally had to take the bull by the horns and cut them right back into the centre, by hand, with secateurs. This coincided with finding the funds to relay the pathways, which meant re-establishing the old path widths.

The books say not to cut back into the old wood, but in fact this is where the strongest new growth will break from. If you are lighter you will get spindly, lanky growth that will not form such a close, compact hedge. Of course, this is a drastic, infrequent renovation treatment, and we usually clip the hedges in late Spring each year.

The next job, over the next few winters, will be to reduce the height by almost half to bring the hedges back into proportion.

We do keep some replacements in a nursery bed - it is sometimes necessary to remove a small section for access.

Thanks, all for your comments!
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Best wishes,
Jon

Jon, thanks so much for the information and the photo. It's amazing that plants of 70-plus years can be pruned so heavily and still thrive. Will you take off the tops this coming spring or give the plants a year or so to recover from the severe pruning?

Learning more from you, again,
Sue

Jon, I've enjoyed this thread a lot. Gardens-in-winter pictures are always a treat and I appreciate another pruning lesson.

Ofcourse it will be just as beautiful as ever with people like you on the job.