Early spring at RHS Wisley

Posted:20 February 2010

We had a great visit to RHS Wisley last Saturday and were delighted with some very positive feedback from those of you who joined us.

“Thanks for a lovely trip.  You guys have a knack of making everyone feel so welcome”

Wisley is the RHS’s flagship garden, and within its 200 acres it is possible to find plants suitable for almost every UK garden situation, irrespective of size, soil or location.  We focused on winter interest – whether in use of evergreens, coloured stems and barks, fragrance and winter flowering shrubs, perennials and bulbs.  It is always surprising how much beauty there is on a chilly, rather dull, February afternoon.  Being such a cold winter many of the plants were late in their display, so we would highly recommend a visit in the near future.

The Salix alba ‘Golden Ness’, Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’, Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ welcomed us on arrival, and walking round the gardens we saw wonderful Hamamelis, and Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’, and lots of snowdrops.  It was bitterly cold and so to dive into the Glasshouse and spend time warming up while discovering this wonderfully tranquil paradise where exotic butterflies take flight among the plants was exceptional.  It certainly whetted our appetites for plants we may see in South Africa in October on our Garden House Tour.  Do join us! The tropical plants were extraordinary and we imagined what they will look like in their native surroundings.

Coming up: On April 17th we have organized a coach trip to Beth Chatto’s garden, details will be on the website soon; and on June 23rd we are visiting Mottisfont Abbey, where our main focus of interest will be the walled garden, home to their national collection of old-fashioned roses.