HOUGHTON Lodge Gardens were honoured with a visit from BBC 2's gardening programme.

Houghton Lodge, is a Grade II* listed Cottage Orné, in Test Valley surrounded by mature trees, gardens and lawns sweeping down to the banks of the famous River Test.

The privately owned gardens appeared on Gardeners World on Friday October 15 at 8pm.

Head Gardener of Houghton Lodge, Kevin Barnett, was interviewed by presenter Joe Swift next to the famed espaliered pear tree, Beurre Diel which has been recently crowned the widest in Britain by The Champion Tree Register.

To give viewers an idea of the story of the historic tree, gardeners pruned the trees in the ancient apple orchard whilst discussing the fruit trees, many of which can no longer be found in supermarkets.

The Bramley Apple Tunnel can also be seen as well as the topiary peacock garden central to which is The Kuberuka Peacock, made in 1996 from old car bodies by the Shona tribe in Zimbabwe.

Sophie Busk, owner of Houghton Lodge said: “It was such an honour to meet Joe and the crew, and we were all delighted that they chose Houghton Lodge to film and air this Autumn. It was an exciting day, the sun shone, and the garden looked amazing as it bowed its head towards autumn. Joe seemed impressed with what we have here and interested in our work. It has been the perfect end to one of our most busy seasons for which we are most grateful.”

The gardens are now closed to the public for this season but will re-open in the Spring on Apri1 l 2022.

For visitors wanting to take a short break, the recently opened accommodation at Houghton Lodge provides self-catering accommodation all year round.

Guests get complimentary entry to the gardens during their stay and a discount in the Honesty Coffee Shop.

Gardeners World airs on BBC 2 on Fridays but is available on BBC Iplayer and is a Gardening show offering ideas, tips and advice from experts.