| Address and contact details |
| Bullers Way, Abbotsbury, Weymouth, Dorset, DT3 4LA |
| Tel: 01305 871412 |
| Fax: 01305 871092 |
| Latitude: 50° 39' 41" N |
| Longitude: 2° 37' 47" W |
| Background to the collection |
| Ownership: | Private, Ilchester Estates |
| Umbrella organisation: | PlantNetwork, National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens |
| Personnel |
| Curator: | Stephen Griffith |
| Contact person: | Stephen Griffith |
| Total Staff: | 10 |
| Policies |
| Accessions: | Plant collections from the wild have good records, suitable planting sites within the garden and appropriate labelling. |
| Physical environment |
| Soil type: | Loam/Acid |
| Aspect: | South |
| Total area: | 10.1 ha |
| Area heated: | 500 m² |
| Weather records | No records kept |
| Temperature | |
| Absolute maximum: | 34 °C (2003) |
| Absolute minimum: | -7 °C (1991) |
| Wind | |
| Direction: | South |
| Strength: | Above average |
| Rainfall | |
| Average annual: | 80 mm |
| Month of maximum: | April |
| Month of minimum: | August |
| Plant collection |
| Notable plants within the collection: |
| Largest Picconia in the country, largest Buxus balearica, oldest camellias, largest Pterocarya fraxinifolia, tallest Liriodendron, oldest Villaresia |
| Geographical area(s) of specialisation: |
| Southern Africa, China, Eastern Asia, Australia, New Zealand |
| Special families within the collections: |
| Oleaceae, Malvaceae, Fagaceae, Ericaceae, Theaceae, Rosaceae, Pittosporaceae, Leguminosae, Phormiaceae, Gramineae, Ginkgoaceae, Magnoliaceae |
| Special genera within the collections: |
| Picconia, Hoheria, Quercus, Rhododendron, Pittosporum, Camellia, Acacia, Phormium, Ginkgo, Magnolia |
| Special collections: |
| Conifers, ICCP, – 18 Genera, 20 Species, 20 Taxa, 37 Plants.
Bamboos,
Hoheria, NCCPG, – 6 Species, 6 Accessions, 16 Plants. |
| Record Keeping: | Kept since 1992
Accession books printed in 1899, 4000 species listed |
| Plant-collecting trips: | National |
| Facilities on site |
| Herbarium: | No |
| Library: | No |
| Research facilities: | No |
| Publications: | Garden catalogue |
| Identifications: | Undertakes free identifications for the general public |
| Teaching and Education: | Potential for primary, secondary, higher, taxonomic, special courses |
| Interpretation: | Supervised garden walks, signs, brochures, guided trails |
| Friends Organisation: | No |
| Visitor facilities: | Restaurant, plant shop, bookshop, gift shop |
| Access to the collections |
| Public access: | Admission charge |
| Visitors per year: | 65,000 |
| Public opening hours: | Mon-Sun: 10am-6pm |
| Guiding principles behind the collection |
| The Garden aims to cultivate as many unusual half-hardy plants as possible, to make use of its special microclimate, as well as to increase its woodland plant collection, cultivated and wild-collected material. The Garden is putting together a lottery bid for the estate to include the funding of a botanical survey and records system. |
| Location map |
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