One Saturday near the beginning of April we decided to visit Mottisfont Abbey, a National Trust property about 25 miles away from home. This is normally a property to visit in the summer as it is the proud possessor of a beautiful walled garden which is home to a stunning collection of old fashioned roses. There was a special reason for visiting now however, in that the gallery was housing an exhibition of Patrick Litchfield photographs - I will be writing separately about the 3 photo exhibitions I have been to recently, so this post will be concentrating on Mottisfont itself.

it was a misty day with a soft light and on and off drizzle, but the trees were spectular

There were statues and magnolias

and in the distance a shepherds hut almost disappearing into the mist

Hidden away was this fabulous mosaic by Boris Anrep one of the artists who used to stay in the house regularly. It is said to be a likeness of the owner Maud Russsell with whom he had a long standing love affair after the death of her husband.

I have always associated the walled garden with the wonderful display of roses you can find there in June, and to be honest I didn't think it would be very interesting in spring. I couldn't have been more wrong.