Mottisfont Abbey Garden

Roses and columbine grow inside the walled garden at Mottisfont Abbey (June 2003)

Aware of my penchant for live flowers, dear friends living in England took me to visit National Trust (UK) property Mottisfont Abbey where we wandered through the walled garden in June of 2003. 

Located near Romsey in Hampshire, Mottisfont became home to Augustinians after the founding of the Priory in 1201, but passed to a friend of Henry VIII after he abolished all monasteries. 

In the 1970s, renowned horticulturist and rosarian Graham Stuart Thomas oversaw the restoration of Mottisfont's walled garden where roses and perennials grow side by side.

Pathway in Mottisfont's walled garden

My friends thought I spent way too much time photographing flowers and not enough time simply enjoying the beauty of the garden. What they didn't realize is that I process experience through the creation of art - a photograph, a poem, a story. 

Almost ten years later I'm still grateful for the introduction to Mottisfont. 

Perennials in the garden

Yellow roses growing inside the walled garden

For more information about the history of the gardens at Mottisfont Abbey visit the National Trust's website: 

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mottisfont/history/page-1/