Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens

[1] They are Grade I listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

[4] Since then, particularly after the contributions of the 4th Earl of Ilchester,[4] the gardens have developed into an 8 hectares (20 acres) site with exotic plants, many of which were newly discovered species when they were first introduced.

[3] The gardens are in a wooded and sheltered valley, leading down towards the sea at Chesil Beach; this combination produces a microclimate in which more delicate plants than are usually grown in southern England can flourish, and plants that would otherwise need a greenhouses can be grown outside.

[3] However, in spite of its location, the plants remain vulnerable to bad winters, and the frost that they can bring;[3] in 1990, violent storms damaged many of the rare specimens, which have since been replaced by younger plants.

In 2010, Abbotsbury employed the chainsaw artist Matthew Crabb to carve a 200-year-old oak tree that had fallen after a particularly bad winter.