MOTTISFONT has been handling the heat amid National Trust warnings that the heatwaves and prolonged dry weather are damaging landscapes, gardens and wildlife.

As a commercial attraction, Mottisfont, National Trust is exempt from the current hosepipe ban. Nevertheless, the National Trust site in the valley of the River Test has been busy saving water where it can.

The county-wide hosepipe ban came into force on Friday, August 5 as a result of low water levels in the River Itchen and the River Test. Southern Water imposed the Temporary Use Ban (TUB) on Winchester, Southampton, Andover and the Isle of Wight to reduce the demand on the local rivers amid one of the driest years on record.

READ MORE: Hampshire hosepipe ban: What it means for you

The gardens at Mottisfont, National Trust have been suffering with the drought.

General manager, Vicky Fletcher said: “This year due to the extreme heat our gardeners are up extra early and are watering some of our plants by hand – for example any newly planted roses that don’t have an established root system yet, and some of our herbaceous perennials which are struggling with the drought. We never water the lawns; no sprinklers or anything – they’ll come back once it rains.

Hampshire Chronicle:

“The other plants that are really struggling are the gourds that grow up the pergolas in the kitchen garden. They’re thirsty plants, so we have also been giving them the odd watering can. Across the site the river levels are very low, and the spring-fed Abbey font has dried up, so we are definitely seeing an impact of the drought.

“National plant collections are exempt from the hose pipe ban but in a normal year we wouldn’t usually water the National Collection of Old-Fashioned Roses here anyway because roses are deep rooted.

“We make thousands of tonnes of compost every year and we mulch our beds annually which helps with water retention in our soils, which allows us to keep water use to a minimum across our gardens.”

Other National Trust sites the charity cares for have not been so fortunate, with loss of lichen and mosses in Dartmoor, whilst heather neglects to flower on Dunwich’s lowland heath in Suffolk. Cornwall, Devon and Norfolk have experienced wildfires in some of their beauty spots and a water wheel that powers a flour mill in Cambridgeshire has had to stop turning due to low river flows.

The National Trust has released tips such as finding shady woodlands or sheltered gardens and going out early or late to avoid the midday sun so to keep cool in the hot weather.

SEE ALSO: Mottisfont set for spectacular rose season 

Mottisfont is home to an 18th Century building converted from a mediaeval priory to a family home in the 1930s. The gardens at the Romsey National Trust location were chosen to host the National Collection of old-fashioned roses by Graham Stuart Thomas in the 1970s.

For more information go to nationaltrust.org.uk/mottisfont.