ONE of the South's most popular gardens, Mottisfont Abbey, near Romsey, is celebrating its 800th anniversary with a program of events.

More than 85,000 people already flock to the National Trust property every year to take in the garden renowned for its roses - all 480 varieties of them.

Now head gardener David Stone is preparing for a year of unrivalled interest in the historic property.

He leads a staff of four full-time gardeners and a handful of dedicated volunteers to care for the Romsey landmark, created eight centuries ago at the foot of a natural spring.

"That pre-dates the whole place, it's prehistoric, it's one of the reasons the priory was built here - because of the vital source of fresh water," Mr Stone said.

"We call it mottis-font, which in Saxon means the meeting place by the fountain."

"The garden itself is about 35 acres - it's part of a much bigger estate owned by the Trust. Most people know it for its roses - we've got two and a half acres of walled gardens.

"But mostly we're meadow, lawns, magnificent trees, and we've got a tributary of the Test running through the garden."

Several events this year will enable people to throw away their guidebooks and hear the information from experts like David himself, who has worked at Mottisfont since 1978.

"Most of the garden we have today dates from the mid-18th century, but we have evolved from back in the 13th century, when there were orchards and herb gardens. In the Tudor period there were larger orchards and avenues of trees around the house and larger fish ponds around the grounds, but the main features mainly date from the 17th century onwards."

David added: "We've got several guided walks and what we're trying to do is explain the history on site and how the garden has evolved."

The first walk would be held on April 3, with others available throughout the year "On May 1, there's a walk entitled Around the World in 800 Years and that looks at the various plants that have come into the garden from around the world," he said.

David will hold question and answer sessions on gardening problems in June, and in August, a children's trail will be held, "where they can hopefully trace 800 years of history from clues placed around the garden," he said.

A walk called Beyond the Guidebook will be held in September and the final series of walks, Kicking up the Leaves, will run until the garden closes for the year in October.

"So that's all part of our celebrations of Garden Year and trying to interpret 800 years with the people," said David.

* For more information about the special events , call Mottisfont Abbey on 01794 340 757.