RHS Wisley

Quick note: Apologies to those who were waiting. I have had little internet or time until today.

Weather for the ducks

The day I left Denver, the temperature read 80 degrees fehrenheit. I was in shorts and a T-shirt by the time I boarded the plane for London. This wardrobe soon changed once I landed in London on Monday. It was raining and a damp cold that went straight to the bones. Typical weather for England this time of the year.

Charlotte Reynolds greeted me at the airport around 9:30am and before I knew it, I was walking around Wisley with the curator, Colin Crosbie.

Curator, Colin Crosbie, explaining the new design of the soon to be replanted rock garden

Fighting the jet lag, I managed to walk around most of Wisley with Colin and ask him several questions about the gardens and its collection of alpine plants. After speaking with Colin for some time, I realized that Wisley is truly a garden that aims to inspire the public and share horticulture in a fun and meaningful way. This also drives the design and collections for the gardens. For example, there are several trial beds where plants are tested for certain qualities before they are introduced into the nursery trade. There is also demonstration gardens that show how to maximize small space for gardeners with less area to work with.

After a short time, Colin and I made our way to the Alpine Houses and Rock Garden

Czech Crevice Garden, Alpine Display House, and landscaped alpine house 

Tecophilea, Cyclamen, Primula, Hepatica, and several other spring bulbs and alpines were in full bloom in the display house

A landscaped tufa area is incorporated into the plunge bed. I liked this idea a lot

The landscaped alpine house used tufa and sandstone boulders to create a mountain scene

On the northside of the landscape alpine house, tufa is stacked and several Saxifraga, Haberlea, Ramonda and other shade loving alpines thrive

Janina touring me through one of the many back-up alpine display houses

We then toured the backup and nursery houses of the alpine and rock garden areas. It's amazing how many plants are behind the scenes to make the Alpine Display House looking so colorful year round. I learned that for every 1 sq. meter of display space, there is 10 sq, meters of backup pots. 

The Rock Garden team discussing the new design of the rock garden

After a nice walk around the gardens I explored the rest of the gardens on my own. Charlotte met me at the end of the day and within an hour I was conversing at the local pub with the trainees who attend the Wisley program. It reminded me so much of my time when I studied at Longwood Gardens. I even spent the night in an extra bedroom where all the trainees live.

After some much needed sleep, I spent the second day at Wisley touring and asking more questions to the staff who work in the rock garden areas. I also squeezed a quick visit to the seed library and cleaning facility.

RHS Wisley is an amazing display garden. The detail and care that goes into the gardens is inspiring on many levels. Everyone at the Gardens was exceptionally nice and helpful and I am very glad that I saw it again for the purpose of Alpines.

I am en-route to York via train after a lovely visit to Cambridge Botanic Garden will write another blog about my visit to Kew a little later on.

- Nick