Late Winter Interest at RHS Garden Wisley

Published on: 24 Feb, 2020
Updated on: 24 Feb, 2020

Winter colour on the Winter Walk, here provided by irises

During the colder months, many are surprised by how much seasonal horticultural interest can be discovered. At RHS Garden Wisley, the team curated the Winter Walk to showcase a wonderful assortment of plants with appealing colour, shape, structure and scent, that develops from December through to March.

February is a particularly good month to explore the Winter Walk as new life begins to bloom. Bold splashes of purple can be found gracing the ground in beds and tree circles, with Iris reticulata cultivars putting on a show. Popular varieties include Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ and Iris ‘Harmony’.

Helleborus Walberton’s Rosemary = ‘Walhero’

Hellebores provide an early floral treat and put on a good display until early spring along the Winter Walk. The plantings of Hellebore ‘Walberton’s Rosemary’ provide a pop of pink while the Hellebore ‘Anna’s Red’ features rich, red-purple single flowers.

Over one hundred edgeworthia shrubs grace the borders on Seven Acres. The intriguing Edgeworthia ‘grandiflora’ has lightly fragranced yellow flower clusters, providing a real treat for the senses. Other unmissable scents radiate from the witch hazels and daphnes close by.

Colourful cornus

Colourful stems of different dogwoods and willows create a rainbow of colours, which look especially spectacular on a sunny day. The bright red stems of Dogwood ‘Baton Rouge’ are truly eye-catching, whereas the white, wiry stems of brambles look almost ghostly.

Along the Winter Walk, visitors can spot a variety of beautiful trees at this time of year too. Look for the eye-catching Tibetan cherries, which display rich mahogany-coloured bark that flakes and peels away in bands, leaving the trunk looking glossy. Another true winter wonder is the gleaming white West Himalayan birch that beautifully reflects the light.

The best way to explore the Winter Walk is to pick up a free guide on arrival at the Garden. Look up your favourites to find out more about the planting schemes and gain inspiration for what to try at home. The route is paved and takes around 45 minutes to complete at a steady pace.

Plan your visit to RHS Garden Wisley: www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley

Last chance for the Giant Houseplant Takeover

Giant house plant takeover, RHS Garden Wisley

If you’re quick you can discover a unique new experience this winter inside the Glasshouse at Wisley as you step inside The Giant Houseplant Takeover, on until March 1 2020.

Visitors will find a Victorian house reclaimed by hundreds of houseplants, with every room growing wildly out of control. Eye-catching sights include a parlour palm lounging in an armchair and a giant fern taking a bath.

Plants take over the bathroom

The exhibition, created by Wisley’s Glasshouse team, is aimed at inspiring everyone to think about quirky and innovative ways to grow houseplants. Ambitious and surprising, the display will give visitors the chance to wander round an entire house of six rooms, each showing different kinds of houseplants that have made themselves at home.

A dining table is set with a succulent feast of succulents and other house plants. The exhibition, set in a Victorian-inspired house, aims to inspire a new generation of indoor gardeners. RHS / Luke MacGregor

Familiar spaces to discover include the Living Room, Bedroom, Kitchen, Dining Room and Bathroom – all filled with unusual scenes. Popular houseplants such as spider plants, devil’s ivy, palms, cacti, bromeliads, succulents and carnivorous pitcher plants will appear in the display as never seen before.

The Giant Houseplant Takeover continues throughout the rest of the Glasshouse, with an avenue of terrarium plants, a hanging display of over 100 air plants and a gallery of succulent portraits.

Find out more about The Giant Houseplant Takeover here:
www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/giant-houseplant-takeover.