England is a land of gardens, and one of the nicest of these is Wisley, just up the road from us. We’ve passed by it several times on the way to Heathrow and we have often said that we really must stop and have a look around. So this Spring we did, and we weren’t disappointed.

I will warn you if you choose to go that it is not cheap. A single entry for an adult is around 20 quid ($35 Canadian) and membership for two is around 50 quid ($90 CAD). And unlike many venues in this country, there was no senior’s rate, mores the pity. So we bit the bullet and went for the 20 quid each and I have to say it was worth it.

The Gardens were the former estate of candlemaker George Wilson, who entered his father’s business at 18 and was so successful that he was able to retire and sell the business at a considerable profit in his early forties and used the earnings to buy a 60-acre property he had recently bought in Surrey, building an expansive estate house and numerous greenhouses.

An avid gardener, Wilson spent the next forty years transforming his Surrey farmland into one of the premier horticultural properties in England before turning it over to the Royal Horticultural Society in 1902 in his will. Subsequent purchases by the RHS have expanded the property into a 240 acre network of lush lawns, expansive gardens, and experimental greenhouses.

Outside of the botanical gardens in Singapore, we have never seen anything like it. The pictures here don’t do the place justice. The rhododendrons were in full bloom and there were vast swaths of them in every colour and variety imaginable. There were rock gardens and waterscapes, and acres of graceful trees. We wandered for hours without coming to the end of all the gardens there to see. As I say, well worth the cost.

This has been an exceptionally warm spring in England, according to the locals, and we have enjoyed the weather. Although we still miss the Caribbean; this milder climate seems to suit us both well. It allows us to spend many hours walking around in the sun without having to seek shelter in the shade. Sitting outside for a cup of tea and the end of our “labours” was a particularly nice treat.

May 2022.