RHS Garden, Wisley

22/4/2003

A visit to the RHS Garden at Wisley is a must for any gardening enthusiast. This is the main RHS laboratory building - and the rest of the garden is just as scenic!

There is so much to see, whatever kind of plant takes your interest. Here is a cactus from the Alpine House.

There is an extensive selection of tropical plants in the Glasshouse complex - it is always colourful, whatever the time of year.

Definitely the big brother of the houseleeks we grow in our rockeries!

Outside the Alpine House I saw this clump of Ipheions. These are reliable plants that flower between February and May and can survive the hot and often dry summers we have often had in southern England over the last few years. They grow from bulbs and the foliage dies off completely during high summer. Back in 2003 I rescued a clump that had been left in a Malvern planter on my back patio from several years beforehand; they had survived so well I was able to divide them into half a dozen pots.

Another gorgeous cactus from the Alpine House. Looks eerily like a pink worm, doesn't it?

Another vibrant specimen in the Glasshouses.

A real highlight at Wisley, though, is the Orchid House, which was sponsored by Singapore Airlines. All the remaining photos on this page were taken there.

Don't they look just like a pair of friendly faces?