Written by Peter Hasted, Sunken Gardener
On Friday, 20th September, 2024 I had the honour of taking three Sunken Gardeners, Sue, Anna and Angie to a very special Garden, RHS Wisley for a very large serving of inspiration.
The horrendous traffic on the M25 gave us the opportunity to have a delightful countryside drive through the west Kent and Surrey lanes. As we arrived the sky darkened, so we found ourselves in the gift shop purchasing umbrellas to make the very wet walk up to the Hilltop. It took us quite a while to reach the top as we stopped to marvel at the incredible horticulture practices every couple of steps, as the thunder and lighting disappeared into the distance. We made it to the café at the top of the hill just as it stopped raining, and by the time we had refreshed, the sun came out and the World Food Garden beckoned us out to admire the innovation and artistic talent of the RHS curators and gardeners at Wisley.
RHS Wisley is set in almost 100 hectares, so getting round it all in a day is very challenging. We had had a long drive and were due to go to the Award Ceremony in the afternoon, so time was very limited. We could have stayed in the World Food Garden all day, but I was keen for our gardeners to see as much of Wisley as possible, therefore I guided them down to the Bonsai Walk and Alpine Houses before a quick introduction to the extensive 110 year old Rock Garden, before heading back to the Hilltop for the formal ceremony. We caught up with friend of the Sunken Garden, BBC Garden expert and reporter Jean Griffin and we were all delighted to gain ‘Level 5 – Outstanding’, the top award for our category, It’s Your Neighbourhood, and even more so to help Broadstairs Town Team celebrate with their multiple and prestigious awards.
Once the formalities were over it was back to the gardens, taking the Sunken Gardeners to the Glasshouse. Unfortunately I had spent so much time socialising and networking at the ceremony, we missed the last entry into the Glasshouse, but it did give us the opportunity to inspect the newly laid out Oudolf Landscape, which was worth the visit on its own.
By this time it was getting late and we all wanted to make sure we got to the garden centre before it closed, so off we went through the Rose Garden, stopping off to admire the Cottage Garden and Exotic Garden before heading down the bottom to the Mixed Borders, Wisteria Walk, on to the Conifer Lawn before a wander around Jellicoe Canal.
RHS Wisley really does give you a sensory overload, it is full of so many different plants and trees that you’ll walk out of there in awe. It is a very special Garden and I was elated to be able to go with Sunken Gardeners Sue, Anna and Angie, and am looking forward to going again soon.
