Godshill Model Village

This family owned garden and Model Village opened to to the public in 1952. Our planting has evolved from mixed summer bedding and perennials to a collection of 3,000 conifers. Packed into the 2-acre site you will find niwaki treated trees that offer year round interest and structure.

The purpose of building the collection was to give context and create an impressive backdrop to the 1/10th scale model buildings. Now the trees and garden are an attraction in their own right and we are pleased to support the RHS in offering members the chance to enjoy this quirky setting. As with the Japanese tradition we have concentrated on using a chosen range of trees sculpting them individually, for maximum effect, to create the right atmosphere to offset the models.

The majority of our stock comes from Swanborough Conifers in Wiltshire. The emphasis is to take on very small specimens and then bring them to life within the Model Village. Our gardener, Fred Green, will carefully select a prime spot for each new tree and then plant, prune and shape them as they grow. Quite often we use our ’model of the Model village’ area as the prime spot for planting new arrivals.

We continually review the size of our trees and their respective position to the models, so that the look and feel of the garden evolves. By undertaking an annual move around of up to 300 trees we can ensure the scale, colour, perspective and garden interest is retained. The number of trees moved will depend on which areas of the garden we need to re-landscape for each year.

Our gardens offer the opportunity to see how it is possible to maintain a wide variety of conifers at this small scale. With the decreasing size of the average family garden this provides inspiration for keen gardeners to use this versatile tree to provide colour all year round and interest at home.