Good morning; this morning, I bring to you my latest visit to Mottisfont walled gardens at Mottisfont Abbey. Having previously visited Mottisfont I wanted to visit Mottisfont in June this year in order to see the beautiful roses, but although some of the National Trust properties were open from mid-June, I did not leave home until lockdown had ended at the start of July. I hope to see the walled gardens in rose-spelendour next year. I just hope that things are "back to normal" then. A couple Fridays ago, I booked to go to Mottisfont. Any National Trust properties must be booked about two weeks in advance in order to manage numbers for social distancing.
My last visit to Mottisfont was at the end of July last year, which I posted about here: A Day at Mottisfont Abbey (Hampshire, England). During this visit, I enjoyed the day with friends after having lunch at a local pub before visiting the house at Mottisfont and an exhibition. The gardens were similar to what I saw today, but last year's had a little more care because the lockdown has made it difficult to maintain the gardens.
The house at Mottisfont was closed; at the moment, all National Trust houses and buildings are shut to the public. English Heritage has opened most of its properties, but I don't think National Trust will be doing so until at least September, if they do at all this year. Also, the properties book out well in advance. Those who don't book on the Friday will likely miss out.
With social distancing measures, visitors could not get close to other visitors, and one-way systems were in operation. A lot of the garden was roped off, and the narrow walkways meant that one-way systems were set up. I was not able to take too many photographs or close-ups due to having to maintain a walking pace so that I was not holding up the people behind me. Unfortunately, this meant that I could not enjoy at a leisurely pace.
In early July, the pears are growing and will be ripening soon. I also saw apples.
Most of the roses were dried up, unfortunately. I think I was probably three weeks behind its prime. I did see a few roses in the shadey areas near the wall.
The colours were lovely, and my photographs do not do it justice because I really could not hang around to enjoy them and get little details. But, I think you can get the idea.
The middle of the gardens and benches to sit were all roped off.
The lavender has come out in bloom and is beautiful with amazing fragrance and a lot of bees, moths, and butterflies flittering about.
I hope that normalacy can return soon and that I can visit the gardens next June in order to see the rose displays at Mottisfont Abbey walled garden.
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