New glasshouse at RHS Wisley

Posted on 2 Jul, 2007 1 comment

Last week HRH The Queen opened the new glasshouse at RHS Wisley in celebration of the bicentenary of the RHS. I’ve been meaning to visit Wisley for a while on a friend’s recommendation; the impressive new addition reminded me and provided even more reason to go.

The first thing I noticed about the glasshouse was its size, you really can’t ignore just how impressive the structure is, both from up close and from a distance. Inside it felt very spacious but it didn’t take long for me to forget about the size and have my attention drawn to the intricacy of the bright and unusual flowers.

The glasshouse is split into different climates with a Moist Temperate, a Dry Temperate, and a Tropical Zone. I was surprised at how much I liked the Dry Temperate Zone and its fantastic collection of cacti. I’ve never really been that interested in them but the display was excellent and had so many intriguing plants.

As a novice I can only wonder at how much time, effort and knowledge has gone in to designing, planting and maintaining everything in the glasshouse, I saw at least 6 members of staff tending the plants while I was there. I think they’ve done a great job with the plants and other features; as well as the lush greenery and vividly coloured flowers there are educational and interactive areas, the Roots Zone has fascinating features showing just how much happens beneath the soil, unobserved by us.

I really enjoyed my first visit to Wisley and I think the new glasshouse is a great addition! I’ve posted a few photos to the visit profile of RHS Wisley.