After a day of washing and recharging batteries we sallied forth to RHS Wisley Gardens, where I used to work. I’m glad we’ve only got a small hire car, the lanes were narrow with a few passing places, similar to the Oxford Canal but at a much higher speed !

As I gave a comprehensive walk thru last year I’ll document some of the changes we saw. After queuing for 10 minutes we made straight to the new Orchid house, located within the main glasshouse.

Most of the plants are growing in situ, with lots of ground cover and plunge pots obviously rotated thru them. A pleasing display but lacking in numbers somewhat. Bunnings sometimes have a lot more on show, even if they aren’t so well arranged !

Overall a good display, but I like to think my 3 orchid houses looked pretty good when I was running them ! The rest of the glasshouse is divided up into the traditional stove, temperate and cool sections with a cacti house as well.

After the glasshouses we wandered towards the fruit area via the recently planted Oudolf area. You could either take the straight path to the lavender hill, or meander around. Either way the beds in pastel shades provided a delightful scene to the eye, he obviously knows his stuff !

At the top of the rise was a small hill with a narrow spiral path to the top. As it was entirely planted out with various types of lavender the scent and hum of bees was overwhelming.

Overall a fantastic addition to Wisley. Next up was Hilltop, a quick bite to eat, and a wander around the ponds. The water lilies were fully out in the warmth, and surrounding beds provided strong colours after all the pastel shades of the previous section.

We headed up towards Battlestone Hill now, looking for a little shade and somewhere to sit.

One stop I always make is to visit “my” group of gumtrees. As a teenager my first summer holiday job was working at Battlestone Hill. I was allowed to plant a few Eucalyptus saplings, and after some 45+ years they are looking pretty good ! I don’t know if I’m aging as well….

We finally walked down the main herbaceous borders to our exit thru the shop, always good for a few presents to take home !

I always get nostalgic at these gardens, they are a very special place to my parents and I, thankfully most of the changes have been for the better and it copes well with the hordes of visitors. Time for a real shower, drink and watch the opening Olympics.