*************
Garden Owners,
Please copy this information and paste it into an email to:   wb [at] armchair-travel [dot] com

Please make any changes in BRIGHT RED in your email back to us.

Regards,
Armchair Travel Co Ltd
http://www.armchair-travel.com
*************



Garden Name: RHS Garden Wisley
Last Modified: 08/03/2010
Garden ID: 0079

pic: 0079_Wisley.jpg

Owner: RHS Wisley
Address:
Woking


Postcode: GU23 6QB
County: Surrey

tel: 01483 224234
fax: 01483 211750
website: www.rhs.org.uk/wisley
email: info {at} rhs.org.uk

Features: 
Rock Garden, glasshouses, lakes, pinetum, vegetable garden, walled gardens, mixed borders, fruit field, herb garden, model gardens and country garden.

English Heritage Grade:


Opening Times:
All year, except Christmas Day; March - Oct; Mon - Fri; 10am - 6pm; Sat & Sun; 9am - 6pm.
Nov - Feb; Mon - Fri; 10am - 4.30pm; Sat & Sun; 9am - 4.30pm
Last admission 1 hour before closing.
Garden opens at 9am on Bank Holidays. Garden closes at 4.30pm from Nov - Feb.

Best Times of Year to Visit: 


To see: 


National Collection: 
Crocus, Colchicum, Daboecia, Epimedium, Erica, Galanthus and Rheum.

National Garden Scheme days: No
Comments: 

Parties / Coaches: Yes 
Comments: For coach parties - free admission is also given to the coach driver, and one group escort.

Viewing by Appointment: Yes
Comments:  

House Open for Viewing: No
Comments: 

Admission Prices:
Adult £9.50 or by membership; Child £3 (6-16) Under 6 free; Groups of 10+ for adults, £7.50-£8.50 pp*; Groups of 10+ for children £2.40. *Reduced rate if booked more than 3 days in advance.
Companion to disabled free.
Visitors who use public transport to visit Wisley and can produce their bus/train ticket are charged the group rate.
RHS affiliated Societies*: One free visit per year
One carer or companion is admitted free of charge per wheelchair user, visually impaired visitor or other person whose disability necessitates a carer.

Parking: Yes
Lavatories: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Shop: Yes
Plants for Sale: Yes
Lunches: Yes
Teas: Yes
Refreshments: Yes
Picnics: Yes
Dogs allowed: No
Only on Lead: No
Events: Yes

Other Facilities:
Disabled & shaded parking. Guide dogs and Registered Support dogs are allowed in the gardens.
Wisley Flower Show - 10th - 12th Sept
A Taste of Autumn - 22nd - 25th Oct


Designer: 
Description of Garden:
The garden of the Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S) at Wisley has become a 'mecca' for garden-lovers everywhere.

Wisley is a very beautiful garden with romantic half-timbered Tudor-style buildings. The soil is mainly acid sand which is poor in nutrients and fast draining. There is a canal designed by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, a rock garden, formal and walled gardens, mixed borders, a rose garden, rock garden, glasshouses, a fruit field and an arboretum. Then there are the alpine gardens, the model vegetable gardens and a country garden by Penelope Hobhouse.

Any gardening speciality or interest can be met at Wisley. One area is given to various styles of model gardens. Trial areas of collections of cultivars are shown to compare, assess, or simply to admire. Laboratories research pests, diseases and general garden problems. Wisley's purpose is to "use and occupy the Estate for the purpose of an Experimental Garden and the Encouragement and Improvement of Scientific and Practical Horticulture in all its Branches".


History: 
In 1878 George Ferguson Wilson, businessman, scientist, inventor and keen gardener, purchased the site and established 'The Oakwood Experimental Garden' with the idea of growing difficult plants successfully. Soon the garden was renowned for its collection of lilies, gentians, Japanese irises, primulas and waterplants. Despite changes since then, it is still true to his original concept.

In 1903 on the death of Mr Wilson, Sir Thomas Hanbury bought the estate and presented it in trust to the R.H.S. With his eminent botanist brother Daniel, he was the founder in 1867 of the celebrated hillside garden of La Mortola, on the Italian Riviera (with which the R.H.S. remains closely concerned).

Local Inns: 
The Anchor

Accomodation: 
Cobham Hilton

Restaurants: 


Village/Town/Sightseeing: 
Guildford
Woking
Cobham