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The Cottage

¾ acre garden. Colourful in spring with azaleas, camellias, trilliums and erythroniums under old oaks and pines. Herbaceous cottage style borders with unusual plants for year-round interest. Bog garden, ponds, kitchen garden. Bantams, bees and birdsong with over 35 bird species noted. Wildlife areas.

Owner Info

The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage
The Cottage

About The Cottage

The Cottage was built in 1905 in woodland but nothing is known of the garden then. A garden visitor who lived here as a girl in WWII only remembers the air raid shelter. In 1950 Guy and Margaret Bishop bought it and found ‘holly scrub, delphiniums and a row of cabbages’ and began landscaping and planting. We came in 1982. So for over 70 years the garden has been designed planted and cared for by only 2 garden loving families.

The front woodland of mature oaks and Scots Pines has camellias (over 30 varieties), azaleas and rhododendrons underplanted with spring bulbs, erythroniums and trilliums.

There are fine non-native trees including Pinus montezuma and Phellodendron amurense

Natural springs supply our bog garden and damp areas near our 2 ponds which are wildlife havens along with uncultivated areas and piles of decaying wood. The open, drier sunnier areas have herbaceous beds with sculptural plants, winter barks and seasonal planting. We have shady areas but less than before as in April 2012 one of our mighty oaks blew down in a gale. Our May visitors could see it lying across an herbaceous bed, bog lawn and bog garden and right through the hedge onto our neighbours’ drive. It is amazing how quickly the plants came back once the tree was cleared. In 2023 another oak came down so we now have a lot more light for our replacement greenhouse, fruit cage and pergola..

We sell honey from our garden beehives for NGS. Unfortunately our free range bantams do not lay enough to provide eggs for sale.

Anne Swithinbank said it is ‘a lovely tranquil garden’ when she visited with GQT
We have opened for NGS since 1986 .We enjoy sharing our garden with visitors. Their comments include ‘ excellent plant stall ‘ ‘it is worth coming for the china’ ‘wonderful birdsong’ ‘so peaceful’ ‘mini Exbury’ In 2016 we were presented with a sundial to thank us for opening for the scheme for 30 years.

We thank Barclays Bank for contributing up to £750 a year in matching pound for pound raised by its retired staff.

The Cottage features

Location details

The Cottage,
Eastleigh,
Hampshire,
SO53 1ES

Directions to The Cottage
Leave M3 J12, follow signs to Chandler’s Ford. At King Rufus on Winchester Rd, turn R into Merdon Ave, then 3rd road on L.

The Cottage openings

Visit by Arrangement

This garden opens for By Arrangement visits from March to May for groups of 5+.

Please contact the garden owner to discuss your requirements and arrange a date for a group or bespoke visit.

Refreshments Home-made teas.
Admission Adult: £5.50
Child: Free

Accessibility

  • No information available at this time, please get in touch with the owners for details.
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FAQs

Yes, cashless payment is accepted.

Yes, coaches are accepted at The Cottage. Please get in touch with the owners for details.

Sorry, no dogs are allowed in the garden at this time.

Yes, there are various plants offerred for sale at The Cottage, please enquire with the owners for more details.

Sorry, The Cottage does not yet accommodate wheelchair users.

Yes. The Cottage seeks to offer a sustainable refuge for nearby fauna and wildlife. These sanctuaries host diverse habitats supporting indigenous flora and fauna and nurturing local biodiversity.