A shining example of a garden (RHS Garden Wisley)

Member Name: eilidhcatriona

Product:	RHS Garden Wisley
Date:	17/07/09 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of different garden styles to see

Disadvantages: Entrance fee, cafe costs, plant signs were unclear

I recently visited the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) gardens at Wisley. This is the flagship garden of the RHS, so I had high expectations. It was slightly accidental that we visited - it was the last day of my parents visit, and we didn't want to go too far or do too much. My mum subtly mentioned an interest in these gardens, so off I trotted to the campsite information place to see if they had a leaflet. They did, but there was only one and it was pinned to the wall...so I nabbed it...

The gardens are easy to get to. The map provided on the leaflet wasn't great, but we headed towards the town of Wisley and soon found signposts. It is located a few miles outside the M25, off the A3 to Guildford. If you're heading there from London, you do actually have to double back but this is very clearly signposted so nothing to worry about. I'm not sure how easy it would be to get to the gardens by public transport, they are outside the town so may not be served by buses.

Having parked up and unloaded my mum's wheelchair (she decided to use it so we could see more in the time we had available), we went to pay. Adult entry is £8.50 each, which is quite pricey, however one "carer" (translation: pusher) gets in free with each wheelchair user. We were given a map of the gardens, which helpfully showed a suitable wheelchair route.

Into the gardens we went. The first area on entering is a pretty terraced garden with a large lily pond. There are some stairs around this area, but there is also a downward sloping path we followed with took us past the pond. The gardens are split into different areas, such as the Rock Garden, Alpine Meadow, Wild Garden, Arboretum, Pinetum, Border Plants and so on. There are loads of them, and we didn't visit them all. So I will tell you about the ones we did visit.

First of all, we passed the Alpine garden. It's quite a small area, and wasn't marked on the map - it was just tucked in beside the Rock Garden and the Wild Garden. I like Alpine plants, simply because they are tough little things which can survive anything. At this point we noticed that the signs telling you the names of the plants weren't clear. My mum saw something she liked, I read her the sign which was apparently for that plant, but she knew the name I read and said it wasn't right. It was the only sign in a bed containing several plant species. I suppose it must be hard to check all the signs and make they are all in the right place, but I have to say I did expect better of the RHS flagship garden!

We carried on past the Rock Garden and the Wild Garden, both of which were very pretty. Alongside the path were a number of fish ponds, with cute bridges over them leading up into the rock garden. We didn't go into this as it was not wheelchair accessible, and although my mum will happily get out for a stroll, it was very steep and rock. Even from the path we had a good view though, and there are a number of benches where you can sit and admire the rockery.

Beyond the rockery there was a nice view of the glasshouses and the reservoir in front. We continued down towards them. Before entering the glasshouses, we went to the toilets, which were reasonably clean although clearly well used so there were paper towels overflowing the bin. No major complaints though, I've seen a lot worse at tourist attractions.

Along the side of the glasshouses there is some very interesting grass. Not a sentence I ever expected to say!! Unfortunately, we were let down by the signs again and don't know what it was. There were several beds of it, and it was quite long. It was a bit windy, and the way this grass moved in the breeze was almost liquid-like, we were quite taken by it.

The glasshouses are split into sections - Temperate Moist, Temperate Dry, Tropical Rainforest and the Root Zone. Each area has plants suitable for that climate, and plenty of information boards about them. The centrepiece of the glasshouse is a waterfall, with artificial rocks around it. The glasshouses have two levels, so you can walk in the treetops, but you can just stick to the ground level. The Root Zone was fascinating, it's in what is meant to be a cave and has lots of screens showing films of roots growing and other under soil activity. There are a lot of interesting resources for children to learn from, and my mum, a biologist, was very impressed with this area. The glasshouses aren't large, and I think we only spent about 20 minutes in them.

We exited the glasshouses on the other side, and walked around the reservoir. There is a fledgling Prairie Garden there, which seems to be not long planted. There were some nice plants but it will be better once it has matured a little. We walked up a grassy slope which led to the Fruit Mound, a raised viewpoint beside the fruit fields and the Arboretum. I think that one day it will be covered in fruit, but it also looked newly planted. I went up to the top, hoping for some good views, but all I got was a louder roar from the M25 and a view of the treetops and some fields in the distance.

We then went back down the slope, and carried on towards the Pinetum, through an area which was very nice but I can't remember what it was called! It was grassy, with lots of lovely mature trees, some statues and benches. There was also a large duck pond, which had several small man-made "beaches" around it. This is the best way to describe them - they were made of stone and were hard, but they were the colour of sand and sloped into the water. At each of these there were some benches, and it was a pleasant place to have a seat - once we found one in the shade, it was warm by this point!

We continued on our way, but on reaching the path into the Pinetum, we decided not to go in there as there is no way out so we'd have to return the way we came. And being from Scotland, we've seen plenty of coniferous forests! So we continued back to the entrance which took us past the garden library which we didn't enter.

There are a number of cafes around the gardens, and we stopped for a spot of lunch at one beside the glasshouses. It was quite large and cafeteria like, with an outdoor area with parasols, and it was all clean. Given the wind we decided to sit indoors. We bought two sandwiches, two cakes, and three hot drinks (tea and coffee), and it came to just over £18. Nice cafes are expensive these days, but that just seems ridiculous to me! I had a mozzarella, olive and pesto sandwich, which was ok but not worth the £3.95 it cost.

On the way out of the gardens we visited the shop - because that's what you do when leaving a place like this! It is very large, and nice enough, but we didn't buy anything. There is a large selection of china and toiletries with a flowery theme, and more interesting for any gardeners, a large garden bookshop.

All in all, this was a pleasant afternoon. I thought the entrance cost was a little high, but then there is an awful lot of maintenance required on a garden of this size - and it was all very well looked after. I would recommend a visit, but given the price it is maybe only for those who will really get something out of their visit, if you have a strong interest in horticulture or gardens.

Summary: A pleasant afternoon out