Five things to do in Hampshire this Mother's Day weekend

Here's five things to do this Mother's Day weekend March 9 and 10.

At Exbury Gardens...

Visitors to Exbury Gardens, which opens for the season this weekend, are in for a floral treat as the recent warm, damp weather has triggered lots of blooms, up to three weeks earlier than normal.

Many of the Garden’s camellias, rhododendrons, magnolias and daffodils, which usually blossom much later in the month, are already putting on a flower power show thanks to warmer temperatures and high rainfall over the past nine months.

2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the creation of Exbury’s famed Azalea Bowl, a visitor favourite that blossoms in April/May in a kaleidoscope of reds, shocking pinks, purples and whites. Planted in 1964 by former head gardener Freddie Wynniatt it surrounds a large pond in the Gardens.

It has witnessed numerous marriage proposals and is probably the most photographed spot at Exbury.

Mums get half price entrance to the gardens on Sunday. 

At MAST Mayflower Studios...

The literary world of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler will be brought to life when a puppet-filled musical version of their celebrated tale Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book comes to the stage in Southampton this weekend. 

Charlie loves reading. Especially books about pirates. But his sister hates it it’s boring! Can Charlie convince her that reading is fun? Perhaps if she read a book about a pirate, who is reading a book about Goldilocks, who is reading a book about a knight?

Come and delve into a range of books with Charlie Cook, and help his sister discover the wonderful world inside a book at various times this weekend. 

At EngineRooms Southampton...

Featuring top-class international DJs from the city including Alan Fitzpatrick and James Zabiela, an upcoming festival will celebrate Southampton's electronic music scene. 

The Electronic Music Weekend will span electronic music genres, spotlight the story of the city’s electronic music scene and provide a platform for some of the amazing new talent coming out of Southampton.

The event, which takes place at EngineRooms this weekend will feature a carefully curated line-up of DJs with strong ties to the city, emphasising local talent while also introducing national and international names.

Southampton Forward has teamed up with local partners on the hotly-anticipated weekend, which shines a light on local connections to drum and bass, house, techno and garage.

At Mottisfont...

In mid March, Mottisfont reveals a spectacular spring offering, when the magnolia tree by the stableyard comes into flower.

It creates a broad canopy of scented white blossom, which in full bloom makes a stunning shot for springtime selfies.

You can stand beneath the tree with the gardens behind you, or take a photo from one of the benches on the other side of the flint wall, with the magnolia arching behind you.

The National Trust property is a romantic house and gallery set in beautiful riverside gardens near Romsey.

At the Hawk Conservancy Trust...

This spring, join the Hawk Conservancy Trust for a special evening with their owls!

As night falls, you'll experience the mystical owls' graceful, silent flights in and out of the darkness over their Savannah Arena and amongst mysterious woodland.

Before the flying displays, there will be chance to have sumptuous dinner in Feathers Restaurant and explore parts of the grounds to meet some of the other owls in their care, where the Trust will give you an insight to some of the conservation and research projects that they undertake with British owls.

The event takes place on Saturday night and repeats next weekend.