Saturday, December 12, 2015

My 2015 England Adventure at RHS Garden Wisley and Many Lemon Verbenas!

Wisley has a lot of character!
Although I don't get to see RHS Garden Wisley every time I travel to England, I wanted to see it this time.  It is vast with many gardens, collections of plants and demonstrations of garden techniques and a lovely herb garden.  If you have a garden problem, it is likely that you will find a solution in this garden.  They have a staff of 90 who are always anxious to answer your questions.  Bev from New Hampshire asked what zone equivalent Wisley was in?  Bev, they do get below zero.  Here is a link to a Plant Cold Hardiness Zone Map for the U.K.  It looks like they can reach between 15 to 20 degrees F.   It is a short train ride from London and then a cab ride from the station.  Can I say that the herb garden was one of my favorite parts! 
One of Several Country Gardens!
Part of the Extensive Rock Garden
A Beautiful Display of Herbs in Containers!
Lots of Roses Still in Bloom!
Demonstration of Pruning Fruit Trees
The Beautiful Herb Garden!
And The Beautiful Lemon Verbenas!
A Lovely Thyme Bed!
And Another Lemon Verbena or Two or Three!
Of Course the Nasturtiums Were Doing Well!
And a Lemon Verbena Standard!

The Perennials Were Still Beautiful!
A Special Exhibit of Sunflowers Was Here and Then...

It Was Gone!
A Beautiful Vista!
Had to Try a Rock Cake!
Chicken and Leek Pie at Le Pain Quotidien Restaurant

Really the Herb Garden at Wisley has become one of their jewels in my opinion!  I have seen it a couple of different times and I have to say that this version is the best!  Of course, after losing count at 21 or 22 lemon verbenas, I was hooked.  They were using lemon verbena as filler plants in beds, as background plants and one standard was being buffeted by the wind and was surviving very nicely.  At was just a joy to sit in the garden and enjoy all of the different beds and take in all of the fragrance.  I was glad I was there to see the various sunflowers that were planted because by the end of the afternoon, they had been pulled out and something new was going to be planted.  Don't blink because plants do change!  I had my first rock cake (a very dense scone with fruit) with my afternoon tea and a delicious chicken and leek pie at one of my favorite restaurants in my neighborhood when I got back to London.  All in all it was a fabulous day!  Don't miss it if you are planning a trip to the London area.

It is another warm day here in the 'Burgh.  In the 60's.  So The Herbal Husband and I are going on the Allegheny West Christmas tour with our friends, Michael and Mary.  A full day planned and so I will do a post later about our adventure for tomorrow.   Hope you are having more Christmas like conditions than we are.  Talk to you tomorrow.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pics of beautiful gardens. It got me thinking....even with a staff of 90 gardeners, that can be a lot of work! I wonder about the weather in that area, do you know approximately what "zone" it is in? I garden in zone 4, usually quite a short season, and there are a lot of plants that do not survive a cold winter.
Bev

Marion said...

Next time you visit I shall make you rock cakes.

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Hi Bev, Here is a link to the Cold Hardiness Map of the U.K. http://www.trebrown.com/hrdzone.html It does get to what would be below freezing for us. It looks like Wisley would be in about Zone 8b because they are located in the darker green area. Hope this helps and I will update the post with this link. Take care. xo

Hey Marion, loved your Scottish scones! Will be looking forward to trying your rock cakes! xo