Bennetts Water Gardens is an garden in Chickerell, near Weymouth, Dorset, in southern England. It holds national and international collections of water lilies which flower from late May through to September. The plants are displayed in a series of ponds and lakes. A feature of the garden is a blue Japanese bridge built in 1999 to celebrate 100 years since Claude Monet painted his famous piece Water Lily Pond 1899.

The site was originally a clay pit as far back as 1859; Oxford Clay was dug by hand from the ground for brickmaking. Today a museum on the site details this local history, including Chickerell village, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book; Chesil Beach; and The Fleet lagoon.

Bennetts Water Gardens

The collection of Nymphaea (Water Lily) is accredited with Plant Heritage as a National Plant Collection.

Bennetts Water Gardens

In media

Gardeners' World. Episode 19, 2012, BBC2. First broadcast 17 Aug 2012

References

External links

Great British Gardens

Visit Dorset

West Dorset District Council's Tourism website

RHS Garden Finder

1959 establishments in England

Botanical gardens in England

Gardens in Dorset

Local museums in Dorset

NCCPG collections in England

Bennetts Water Gardens