“Even if it doesn’t snow this year there will be snowdrops in the trees at A la Ronde.”
An Exmouth tourist attraction will be celebrating its spring opening by displaying more than 1,000 snowdrops using a special Japanese technique.
National Trust property A la Ronde will be celebrating its spring opening on Saturday, February 2, with a brand new exhibition of 1,000 snowdrops hanging from the trees in the house’s orchard.
Exmouth’s mayor Jeff Trail and town crier Roger Bourgein will be there on the day to officially open the new season at A la Ronde.
Hand-crafted by volunteers and staff at the property, the Japanese-inspired ‘kokedama’, a natural plant-hanging technique of moss which is moulded into a pretty ball shape, were created over the winter.
The exhibition aims to give a different perspective on the beautiful spring flowers and will be on display until the end of February, when the snowdrops will then be planted around the estate.
Visitor experience manager, Emma Kay, said: “Our property founders, Jane and Mary Parminter loved their garden and using natural materials in their craftwork. We wanted to echo this using the Japanese ‘kokedama’ technique.
“Even if it doesn’t snow this year there will be snowdrops in the trees at A la Ronde.”
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Inside the sixteen-sided house the Parminter cousins used organic materials including feathers, sand, seaweed, shells and crushed minerals to create intricate designs and decorative schemes.
This year A la Ronde is celebrating inspiration from nature and how the Parminter cousins brought the outside, in.
There will be new stories in the house including that of Regency watercolour painter, Sarah Stone, as one of her artworks features in the shell gallery.
There will also be another look at why the house has sixteen sides and its relationship with the sun.
Outside the space will be marked where a significant amount of shells have been found underground, carefully covered over until further investigation can be carried out.
A la Ronde is a sixteen-sided building full of creative treasures from around the world. The hexadecagonal building was the work of cousins Jane and Mary Parminter in 1796.
With a 360’ touchscreen virtual tour every visitor can get up close to the shell gallery; and view the shell ceiling as the Parminters intended while conservation work is ongoing.
For more information on 2019’s Grand Opening visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/a-la-ronde/features/behind-the-scenes.
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