Bennetts Water Gardens

Bennetts Water Gardens is an 8-acre (32,000 m2) garden in Chickerell, near Weymouth, Dorset, in southern England. It holds national and international collections of water lilies which flower from late May through to September. The plants are displayed in a series of ponds and lakes. A main feature of the garden is a blue Japanese bridge built in 1999 to celebrate 100 years since Claude Monet painted his famous piece Water Lily Pond 1899.

A view of the Monet Bridge at Bennetts Water Gardens. The garden, which was opened in 1959, contains collections of water lilies, and is a popular visitor attraction.

The site was originally a clay pit as far back as 1859. Oxford Clay was dug by hand from the ground for brickmaking. Today a museum on the site details this local history including; Chickerell village, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book; Chesil Beach and The Fleet lagoon.

NCCPG National Plant Collection of Nymphaea

The gardens are home to a National Plant Collection of Nymphaea (Water Lily). The scheme is organised by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG) to support organisations in documenting, developing and preserving comprehensive collections of cultivated plants in the United Kingdom. This collection is one of three in the United Kingdom specialising in hardy water lilies.

Media
  • "Gardeners' World". Episode 19, 2012, BBC2. First broadcast 17 Aug 2012

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.