The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has purchased two areas of land in order to expand and help protect the future of its world-renowned RHS Garden Wisley, in Surrey.
Around 50 acres of land to the south and west of the garden’s current boundaries, known as Millwater and part of Nutberry Farm, has been purchased. This is a rare opportunity to secure land that will provide the RHS with a number of exciting opportunities including exploring new horticultural features, enhancing the experience for visitors and helping to advance its sustainability plans. It will also ensure the garden and its boundaries in this area remain free from the threat of commercial development.
Over the last 120 years, RHS Wisley has grown from its original 60 acres to the 240-acre garden that visitors know and love today. Over that time, it has become one of the world’s best gardens, including its Glasshouse tender plant collection, the Exotic Garden, its famous double Mixed Borders and Jubilee Arboretum. This purchase will enable the RHS to continue that important journey of growth and horticultural excellence so that it can be cherished by many generations to come.
Richard Green, Director of Visitor Experience and Estates, said: “The opportunity to acquire land that directly borders our garden is very rare, and despite the recent challenges associated with the M25 National Highways work, we want to ensure that our much-loved garden can continue to grow in the spirit it was created. RHS Wisley already hosts exceptional horticultural features, school visits, community allotments, science research and an exciting programme of visitor events. We want to ensure that the garden continues to enhance our horticultural knowledge and to enable people to establish a lifelong adventure with gardening.”
Since its formation in 1804, the RHS has grown into the UK’s leading gardening charity, touching the lives of millions of people. From its beginnings, RHS Garden Wisley has been dedicated to advancing our knowledge of horticulture and experimentation, and it continues in that spirit today. In summer 2021, the RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science opened, a state-of-the-art science building surrounded by three spectacular new gardens that embrace the latest ideas in horticulture, as well as opening a new Trials Garden. More recently, in 2024, the stunning Oudolf Landscape was opened, with new weaving paths bordered by more than 36,000 perennials. Future plans will be developed within the RHS Strategy to 2030 – A lifelong Adventure with Gardening.
The purchase will be financed by the sale of a small number of properties within the RHS property portfolio and additional fundraising.
RHS Wisley welcomes more than one million visitors each year and offers more than 500 employment opportunities to people in the local area. It’s school’s programme inspires 23,000 young people through hands-on learning experiences in the garden, and our community work supports hundreds of groups to ‘grow’ across the region.
