Photo: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0Hampshire gardens to visit in autumn and winter
For an autumn garden in Hampshire, England, try Exbury Gardens at Exbury, known for its nerine collection shown each autumn, or Sir Harold Hillier Gardens at Ampfield, which has winter opening hours from 25 October 2026. For the coldest months, Mottisfont's Winter Garden and snowdrops and Furzey Gardens at Minstead are both worth a visit.
Hampshire's gardens look different through the year. Exbury Gardens is best known for its spring rhododendrons and azaleas, but it also has a nerine collection shown each autumn and autumn colour from nyssas and acers. It is open daily until 31 October 2026.
Winter opening varies. Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is open daily from 25 October 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and The Vyne's house is open daily from 11am to 3pm until 1 November 2026.
Several gardens add Christmas programmes from late November. Mottisfont's house opens from 10.30am from 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, and Hinton Ampner runs a Christmas programme from 14 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Check each garden's page before you travel, because winter opening days are not always the same as summer ones.
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Autumn colour and trails
Gardens and arboretums with autumn displays and family trails.
Photo: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0Exbury Gardens
A 200-acre woodland garden where the Beaulieu River meets the Solent, best known for its spring displays of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and magnolias. More than 22 miles of paths wind through the gardens to riverside walks, with autumn colour from nyssas and acers.
Why it's here: A 200-acre woodland garden with a nerine collection of about 1,000 cultivars, shown each autumn. Open daily until 31 October 2026, with Christmas at Exbury on the weekends of 28 and 29 November and 5 and 6 December.
Image: Sir Harold Hillier GardensSir Harold Hillier Gardens
A Hampshire County Council garden and arboretum near Romsey, covering a large area of trees and shrubs from around the world. It is a family day out in every season.
Why it's here: A Hampshire County Council garden and arboretum with trees and shrubs from around the world. Open daily, 9.30am to 4pm from 25 October 2026 to 3 January 2027.
Photo: Alfterfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0The Vyne
A Tudor mansion in Sherborne St John, home of the Sandys and Chute families for more than 500 years. The house has state rooms, servants' quarters and gardens, with a family trail in the autumn.
Why it's here: A family trail in the gardens, Tom Fletcher's Who's in Your Book, runs until 8 November 2026. The Twelve Days of Christmas runs from 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027.
Winter gardens and Christmas
Gardens that come into their own in the colder months.
Image: MottisfontMottisfont
Maud Russell's 1930s neo-classical interiors sit in an 18th-century house with medieval origins, set in gardens known for the Rose Garden, the Winter Garden and snowdrops. The gallery hosts changing art exhibitions.
Why it's here: The Winter Garden and snowdrops are among the highlights of these gardens. The house opens from 10.30am during the Christmas season, with last house entry at 3.15pm.
Image: Visit HampshireHinton Ampner
A Georgian country house with formal gardens and estate woodland, in the South Downs National Park near Alresford. The walled garden dates back to Tudor times and has fruit, vegetables and flower-cutting borders.
Why it's here: A Georgian house with formal gardens and a Tudor walled garden in the South Downs National Park. A Christmas programme runs from 14 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, and National Trust members go free.
Image: BeaulieuPalace House and Beaulieu Abbey
Palace House began as the gatehouse of Beaulieu Abbey and has been the Montagu family home since 1538, remodelled in the 1800s as a Victorian country house overlooking the Beaulieu River millpond. Close by are the conserved ruins and cloister of the Cistercian abbey founded by King John in the 13th century, set in gardens laid out over the old abbey grounds.
Why it's here: A Victorian kitchen garden and the 1770s Wilderness Garden beside the Beaulieu River. The garden is included in the Beaulieu ticket.
Open through the winter
Smaller and woodland gardens that stay open in the colder months.
Image: Hampshires Top AttractionsGilbert White's House and Garden
The house and garden of the naturalist Gilbert White, set in the village of Selborne. The garden is an RHS partner garden.
Why it's here: The garden of the naturalist Gilbert White, an RHS partner garden in Selborne. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 4pm, from November to March.
Photo: Chris Wimbush, CC BY-SA 2.0Furzey Gardens
A 12-acre woodland garden in the village of Minstead, with rare shrubs first gathered from places such as India, China and Tibet by early 20th-century plant hunters. It is run as a charity, with the gardens, nursery and thatched tea rooms cared for by gardeners with learning disabilities supported by Minstead Trust.
Why it's here: A 12-acre woodland garden in Minstead with rare shrubs and more than 40 fairy doors. Open daily from 10am to 4pm, and dogs on a short lead are welcome from 2 November to 31 March.
Photo: Chris Gunns, CC BY-SA 2.0Holly Hill Woodland Park
A historic estate park of about 35 hectares between Sarisbury Green and the River Hamble, with lakes, waterfalls, a sunken garden and trees from around the world. Fareham Borough Council took it on in 1954 and has restored much of the landscape.
Why it's here: A historic estate park of about 35 hectares near the River Hamble, with a sunken garden, lakes and waterfalls. No entry charge is mentioned on the council page.
Photo: David Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0Blackwater Arboretum and the Tall Trees Trail
A small arboretum of trees from around the world on Rhinefield Ornamental Drive, cared for by Forestry England. A short sensory loop with tactile sculptures winds through the arboretum, and the Tall Trees Trail crosses the road to walk beneath Douglas firs and giant redwoods planted in Victorian times.
Why it's here: An arboretum of trees from around the world, open all year on Rhinefield Ornamental Drive. Forestry England car park charges apply.
Questions people ask
Which Hampshire gardens are open in winter?
Sir Harold Hillier Gardens at Ampfield is open daily with winter hours from 25 October 2026, Furzey Gardens in Minstead is open daily from 10am to 4pm, and Gilbert White's House and Garden in Selborne is open Tuesday to Sunday from November to March.
When is Exbury Gardens open?
Exbury Gardens is open daily until 31 October 2026, from 10am to 5.30pm with last admission at 4.30pm. Christmas at Exbury runs on the weekends of 28 and 29 November and 5 and 6 December 2026.
Which Hampshire gardens have Christmas events?
Mottisfont opens its house from 10.30am from 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, and Hinton Ampner near Alresford runs a Christmas programme from 14 November 2026 to 3 January 2027.