At Wisley, red-flowered hybrid witch hazel ‘Ruben’ provides a vivid contrast to a gold needled conifer and blooming heath.
The day after we visited the Savill Garden last February, we faced a long drive to Avon Bulbs in the south of England. However, at the suggestion of John Anderson, we decided we would visit RHS Garden Wisley, the flagship of the Royal Horticultural Society’s gardens on our way. When we arrived, we had one hour for touring the 240 acre garden and decided to do the Winter Walk though we wish we had had more time to visit other areas.
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Hybrid witch hazel ‘Pallida’ with a blue needled, creeping juniper.
The Wisley website provides an excellent overview of the the highlights of the Winter Walk with in depth descriptions and photos of 10 locations. Included at the end is a Winter Walk planting list with clickable entries containing photos and details about each plant. You can read it here. During our hurried visit, I captured a random sample, which I will share below.
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The amazing silver buds of ‘Winter Liebe’ edgeworthia underplanted with winter-blooming daffodils.
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I was very impressed with the witch hazels at Wisley, here the hybrid ‘Harry’. They provide a multitude of brightly colored flowers in the winter landscape.
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A closeup of the flowers on ‘Harry’.
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Shrub dogwoods are grown for their winter branch color, here bloodtwig dogwood, Cornus sanguinea ‘Magic Flame’.
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Conifers provide a great contrast in the winter garden, here hybrid witch hazels ‘Pallida’ and ‘Robert’ with a blue spruce.
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Although snowdrops were not a focus of the garden, they were sprinkled through out, adding a cheerful white accent, here ‘Sibbertoft No 2’.
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The garden featured plenty of hellebores, including ‘Anna’s Red’ from the Frostkiss series.
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Frostkiss ‘Molly’s White’
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Hybrid witch hazel ‘Vesna’ with a small variegated shrub, maybe a euonymus, providing a beautiful contrast.
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This Japanese pink pussy willow ‘Mount Aso’ really stood out.
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The white stems of ‘Winter Lightning’ with the woven branches of golden willow ‘Yelverton’.
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The woven branches of golden willow ‘Golden Ness’ edge the pond.
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A gorgeous combination of hybrid witchhazel underplanted with ‘Ice ‘n’ Roses White’ hybrid hellebore.
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A close up of hellebore ‘Ice ‘n’ Roses White’, which is early blooming and a great performer in my garden.
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The winter garden at Wisley is well worth visiting if you are in England in February.
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Carolyn
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