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RHS Wisley (Surrey, England)

I'm up to the last day of my trip to England last May, and we ended with a trip to the second most visited garden in the country - RHS Wisley (Kew Gardens is the most visited). Most of the previous day was spent at the Chelsea Flower Show , which I will cover in the next post. I did not realize how huge this garden was until I started going through my photos. It is more than a garden - it is a horticultural institution. The garden was originally created by businessman, scientist, and inventor George Fergusson Wilson in 1878. He used a small portion of the estate to create the "Oakwood Experimental Garden" where he grew plants that were unusual in England at the time. Among his horticultural achievements was growing lilies outside the greenhouse and water gardening. Wilson's garden attracted notable visitors during his day, including fellow gardeners Ellen Willmott and Gertrude Jekyll (Jekyll actually worked some in the garden with him). Wilson died in 1902, and the pr...
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April bloom day

I think this is my favorite time in the garden. I love seeing the fresh new leaves on the plants and the buds and blooms forming. We've had very warm weather lately with the exception of yesterday when it didn't get out of the 50s. This morning it was still cold and overcast and my fingers were freezing as I was taking these photos.

Clematis 'Josephine'



Clematis 'Elsa Spath'



This nodding beauty is "Mrs. B.R. Cant"



Honeysuckle "Alabama Crimson"


Fleece Flower (Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon') and Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Deutzia gracilis




Camassia quamash




I think this azalea is "Martha Hitchcock" but I'm not certain


Climbing Raspberry (Rubus rosifolius 'Coronarius')


A close-up of the blooms - I think they look like old roses.



Carol at May Dreams Gardens invites bloggers to share their blooms on the 15th of each month. Hop on over to her blog to see what is blooming in other gardens.
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F Cameron said…
'Josephine' is a stunning clematis! You have so many blooms and color right now. Very impressive!

Cameron
April 15, 2009 at 1:18 PM
Tessa at Blunders with shoots, blossoms 'n roots said…
This one's easy! I love the Clematis, can't wait for mine. Your garden is beautiful- I wish I could get mine to look like that :) Happy GBBD to you.
April 15, 2009 at 1:42 PM
Dirt Princess said…
Josephine lives up to royal namesake
April 15, 2009 at 1:48 PM
Gail said…
Phillip...Your photos are spectacular and the blooms in your garden are impressive! I love Lady Banks rose...If I had the right spot for her, right soil, right amount of sunshine! Waoit a minute...that would be your garden! Happy GBBD! gail
April 15, 2009 at 1:55 PM
Sheila said…
My gosh! Those shrubs are huge! How lovely to have all those established foundation plants!
April 15, 2009 at 2:25 PM
donna said…
My husband, son and grandson are all named Phillip. Love the name. How nice of your cute kitty cat to pose with the Chinese Snowball. You have a lovely "bloom day" going on in your yard. Josephine is especially appealing to me and also the Wild Columbine and that big round Tree Peony bud. Actually, I enjoyed every single photo in your post.
April 15, 2009 at 2:26 PM
Cindy said…
Oh, I feel a major case of zone envy coming on.... lovely photos!
April 15, 2009 at 3:04 PM
chuck b. said…
Your garden becomes so indescribably spectacular in the spring...It's like visiting at a fairy-tale world drenched in flowers.

You must have to duck under the Rosa Banksiae crossing the threshold; I love that!

And look what happens to an unpruned Loropetalum! Amazing! I had no idea. I don't think they do that in California.
April 15, 2009 at 3:09 PM
Pam/Digging said…
That 'Alabama Crimson' honeysuckle is amazingly red. I love it. And I'm interested to see what you're training the climbing raspberry up. Is it simply a cedar post with wire around it?
April 15, 2009 at 3:28 PM
Phillip Oliver said…
Thanks everybody! Pam, yes that is just a cedar post with wire around it.
April 15, 2009 at 3:33 PM
Lisa at Greenbow said…
Gosh Phillip your garden is just gorgeous right now. No wonder it is one of your favorite times of the year. The Lady looks lovely as she sets forth her first blooms. What a delight it must be to stroll beneath her branches.
April 15, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Randy said…
Oh this was worth the wait!;-)Beautiful, beautiful blooms! I saw Chester hamming it up. LOL
April 15, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said…
You are so lucky to have the space to let everything get so large! I love them all! I'm putting 'Josephine' on my list, I'm going to a nursery tomorrow to look for that one. My 'Nelly Moser' never does very well. It's about 1/4 the size of the others now.
April 15, 2009 at 3:49 PM
Frances said…
Hi Phillip, what fantasmagoria in your garden! We have many of the same plants, I am so excited to see Fortune's Double yellow in bloom for you. We ordered it last year to grow on the new arbor, it has grown very fast and has many buds. I do think Josephine is one of the finest Clemmies too. I have Elsa Spath, but she is much more blue. Is it just the photo that makes it like that? Speaking of photos, yours are absolutely fabulous! As is your entire garden.
Frances
April 15, 2009 at 4:08 PM
Phillip Oliver said…
Frances, you are right. 'Elsa Spath' is much bluer than that. It is the camera!
April 15, 2009 at 4:18 PM
Sandra said…
Wow, that is an impressive group of blooming flowers. All so beautiful and also really nice photography.
April 15, 2009 at 4:21 PM
Sarah Laurence said…
I can see why it is your favorite time in the garden. Your clematis are scrumptious. How funny – I was just thinking how warm it is in Maine because it’s getting up to the 50’s! I can't wait for my clematis to bloom.
April 15, 2009 at 4:27 PM
joey said…
Philip, your garden is stunning and your photos, outstanding, especially loving your clematis portraits! Isn't this time of year glorious?
April 15, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Layanee said…
I can see why you love this month. The cat looks serene in the garden as cats do. Great shots, Phillip. I like to see the overall garden and it is sometimes difficult to capture. You have done it!
April 15, 2009 at 8:09 PM
sweetbay said…
Beautiful Bloom Day post. Josephine is simply stunning. Great shot.

You have a rose I have long coveted: Fortune's Double Yellow. How does it do for you? I always drool over the picture in the ARE catalog.

Mrs. BR Cant is looking as lovely as ever.

I'll have to look for the 'Stairway to Heaven' Jacob's Ladder. I haven't seen that one.

Happy GBBD!
April 15, 2009 at 8:39 PM
Anonymous said…
My 'Josephine' has soooo far to go to catch up to yours.

The Loropetalum--OMGosh! Stunning! If only I could get mine to grow to a fraction of that size. Well, something to aspire to I guess.

I have the white flowered Banksia rose. It has buds. Love it. Love all your photos.
April 15, 2009 at 9:31 PM
Chandramouli S said…
The very first photo looks heavenly, Phillip. "Clair Matin" is yet another star! No doubt you go crazy when you stand there in your garden. SO many colors around. I love your bird house photo.
April 16, 2009 at 6:04 AM
Roses and Lilacs said…
Fantastic post! First time I've ever seen or heard of a climbing raspberry with rose like blooms. That's very interesting. Love your clematis. Wonderful structure you have Lady Banks growing on.
Marnie
April 16, 2009 at 7:11 AM
Town Mouse said…
Beautiful! I'll take that lorapetalum as a warning ;->
April 16, 2009 at 7:31 AM
Monica the Garden Faerie said…
So many wonderful blooms, and there's Chester!! I also like the pale, yellowy green of new leaves, though my favorite season, in and out of the garden, remains fall.
April 16, 2009 at 7:43 AM
Annie in Austin said…
By the time the last photo scrolled up I was almost collapsed in my chair, Phillip. Your garden is so lovely the viewer forgets to breathe. Not just the roses, but the way you've allowed classic shrubs like Deutzia, Spiraea, Viburnum, Kolkwitzia and Loropetalum to grow into long graceful wands. My loropetalum is much smaller, but also unpruned. I'm so weary of seeing them turned into pathetic cubes in Austin.

"Josephine' is gorgeous...hope the bloom period will overlap with the tree peony so you can see both of them at once.

Happy Blooming Day!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose
April 16, 2009 at 9:44 AM
Les said…
I don't know how long you have been gardening at this home, but your pictures make it look like it has been gardened for generations. Very old South.
April 16, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Mr. McGregor's Daughter said…
I'm sorry about your pruning learning experience. I decided to try something new with my Type II Clematis, not pruning at all some of the shoots, pruning others part-way down, and then pruning some canes all the way to the ground. It should be interesting.
Your garden looks lovely right now, with the Roses brimming with blooms and the big, bold Clematises, kind of like June or July around here.
April 17, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Anonymous said…
Your garden looks so amazing. I can see why you love it. Have you seen a lorapedalum trimmed in to a tree? I did that once.

You have some really pretty arbors and vine post. It's all just great.
April 17, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog said…
So many interesting and different things blooming. Like that first clematis - wow, I've never seen one like that. And that climbing raspberry - definitely like a rose. Very cool.
April 18, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Kathy said…
Your garden is lovely. I think my columbine and camassia will both bloom in June.
April 18, 2009 at 5:46 PM
Landscape Designer said…
Wonderful photographs!! Your garden is beautiful. Your Nelly Moser will probably bloom later in the season. I have several type 2 Clematis that have accidentally been pruned at the wrong time. Even if no buds appear this year console yoursef with the thought that your plant is getting stronger and will bloom better next year!!! (works for me!)
April 21, 2010 at 8:23 PM
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