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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...

Open Gardens: Vanessa Nagel's garden

 

Vanessa Nagel's spectacular garden is just a few miles from our house. I saw her garden for the first time last year when it was on the HPSO Garden Tour. This year her garden was on the Clark County Natural Garden Tour. Vanessa is a garden designer and writer and her talented skills are fully on display here. It is just one beautiful scene after another!





As you leave the patio area, there are various pathways to explore. The garden is located on the south side of the house (the north side is currently being developed into a Ravine Garden!). The large garden is divided into various garden rooms.










































Such an inspirational garden and full of ideas. I could spend hours here. Thank you Vanessa for opening your garden again!

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

Gail said…
Me, too...I could spend hours there. Thanks for taking us for a tour. gail
OOOooooo, this is an inspirational garden. What style and nice surprises such as the mosaic circle garden. So glad you showed us this.
Denise said…
Great photos of an incredibly lush and textural garden. Thank you!
I've seen a couple of posts about this garden and I am always amazed at the diversity and beauty in every view. Looked like golden sage as a ground cover, yes?
chavliness said…
The use of grass in is impressive; no mowing in this garden. They must get wonderful movement with the slightest of breeze. Everything is done with great sense of design. Do share once you figure out how to create a mosaic.
Unknown said…
When we had our bloggers' swap there I was taken by the strong design underlying the plantings. The circle motif really ties it all together.
RobinL said…
The deep green of Pacific NW gardens never ceases to amaze me. Wow!
debsgarden said…
Stunning! For years I also have wanted to do some sort of mosaic circle in my garden. This is another inspirational image that will surely nudge me toward making my dream a reality.