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In The Footsteps of a Master : Graham Stuart Thomas
 

Conference of the Heritage Rose Foundation
Mottisfont Abbey, England, June 23-25, 2014

 

 

 

June 23: Lectures to be held at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Winchester UK

 

Featured Speakers:

  • David Stone AHRHS, Head Gardener, Mottisfont Abbey 

  • Jonny Bass, Head Gardener Elect, Mottisfont Abbey and Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow for 2013

  • John Wood, Head Gardener, Hinton Ampner 

  • Maurizio Usai, Garden Designer, Cagliari, Italy 

  • Stephen Scanniello, President of Heritage Rose Foundation

Silent Auction: Rare books, prints, and garden gems

Lunch is included

 

June 24:

  • VIP tours of the gardens of Mottisfont Abbey

  • Admission to Mottisfont Abbey

  • Lunch 

  • Cream tea at Mottisfont Abbey

  • Transportation from Holiday Inn

 

VIP Tours: A Day at Mottisfont Abbey

 

There will be four tours offered. You will be assigned to a group and have the opportunity to go on each of the following private tours:

 

  1. Discovering Mottisfont: An intimate look at the grounds of Mottisfont Abbey, with an emphasis on: the History of Mottisfont; using roses in the landscape; discovering what makes Mottisfont the place it is today.

  2. Climbers, Ramblers and Mottisfont Rarities: An in-depth tour of the famous walled gardens; special attention will be paid to the rarest roses in these gardens and the techniques employed by the gardeners to cover the walls, arches, pergolas, and trees with glorious climbing and rambling roses.

  3. Graham Stuart Thomas: Exploring the Vision: A chance to learn the secrets of perfect companion plantings with roses through the gardens created by Graham Stuart Thomas; explore the newly renovated herbaceous borders.

  4. Managing Mottisfont: A Head Gardeners View: Head Gardener David Stone will share with you what it takes to make Mottisfont Abbey one of the most beautiful rose collections in the world. David will cover seasonal care and management of the garden with an emphasis on specialized pruning techniques that he has perfected during his tenure as Head Gardener of Mottisfont Abbey.

 

This wonderful day will also include lunch and a delicious traditional English cream tea.

 

 

#2: Dinner to honor David Stone AHRHS, June 23

 

 

Holiday Inn Hotel in Winchester UK

 

Includes:

 

Special presentations by members of the Heritage Rose Foundation

 
#3: Garden Tours, June 25
 
The day starts with a trip to Hinton Ampner with a tour of the garden led by Head Gardener, John Wood. Following coffee, we will leave Hinton Ampner at 12.00 and head off to Loseley Park where we will have a light lunch. After lunch there will be a short talk about the work of Plant Heritage given by Mercy Morris who is Plant Conservation Officer for Plant Heritage. The remainder of the afternoon will be spent exploring the delightful gardens at Loseley. Tours of the house can be taken if booked in on arrival but are not officially part of the daytrip.
 
Hinton Ampner:
The garden at Hinton Ampner was the creation of Ralph Dutton, the last Baron Sherborne who bequeathed the property to the National Trust on his death. It is widely acknowledged as a masterpiece of 20th century garden design. A 12 acre garden, set in 80 acres of parkland, Hinton Ampner combines both formal and informal garden styles as well as mixed borders featuring unusual shrubs and a large collection of heritage roses. The walled garden and greenhouses for tender plants are recent additions to the property.
 
Loseley Park: 
Loseley House, built during 1562-1568 in the reign of Elizabeth 1, is still the home of direct descendants of the More-Molyneux family, the original owners. The gardens consist of a series of rooms with the rose garden of over a 1000 roses, the majority of which are heritage roses. There is a white garden, herb garden, wild flower meadow, an organic vegetable garden, and a moat border - actually created in a part of the original moat.
 
Plant Heritage:
Mercy Morris, Plant Conservation Officer for Plant Heritage, will be giving us a short talk on the work of Plant Heritage. The mission of Plant Heritage is to conserve, grow, document and make available the amazing resources of cultivated plants that exist in the United Kingdom. This monumental task is accomplished through the National Plant Collections and the recently introduced Plant Guardian Scheme. The pre-1900 Shrub Rose Collection at Mottisfont Abbey was one of the first National Collections of Plant Heritage (National Council for the Conservation of Plants & Gardens, NCCPG as it was then). The offices of Plant Heritage are based at Loseley Park.
 
 
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