Spring delights at RHS Gardens
Sharing the joys of spring from our five RHS Gardens
It’s been a long, wet winter but spring is well and truly here, and the RHS Gardens are looking glorious this season.
Whether visiting the RHS Gardens in person, enjoying them via RHS social media channels or the RHS website, you can all enjoy their colour and beauty – there are delicate
RHS Garden Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire
In April, RHS Harlow Carr’s Streamside garden comes alive with the sunny yellow hue of marsh marigold and the unfurling of ferns, followed by dazzling early primulas.
Meanwhile the Woodland, which occupies half of RHS Harlow Carr’s 58 acres, is flushed with trilliums, dog’s tooth violets and pulmonaria, as well as many varieties of magnolias and rhododendrons.
RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Essex
On Clover Hill, plants that have earned the RHS Award of Garden Merit offer plenty of seasonal inspiration for home gardeners. The burst of golden flowers on Forsythia x intermedia ‘Lynwood Variety’ AGM are a welcome sight in March and April, while the pink-flushed white blossom of Japanese quince ‘Moerloosei’ AGM will put on a show for several weeks. The earliest-flowering rose of spring can also be found here: the yellow blooms of Rosa xanthina ‘Canary Bird’ AGM appear in May to herald the coming summer months.
And we mustn’t forget the Winter Garden, where planting creates interest throughout the year – not just in winter. The drooping sprays of bell-shaped yellow flowers on Stachyurus praecox ‘Rubriflorus’ in early spring offer a contrast to the fluffy white balls of blossom appearing on Prunus maackii ‘Amber Beauty’.
RHS Garden Rosemoor, Devon
Across the garden, spring-flowering bulbs have been planted for a spectacular display, including Narcissus and Camassia through the Devon apple orchard. The apple orchards themselves put on a show as they burst into blossom, along with Japanese cherries planted throughout the garden.
In late spring, the wildflower meadows become a dazzling display of buttercups, and in the wildlife pond near the Learning Centre there are signs of new amphibian life – tadpoles and young frogs.
RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey
In the Cottage Garden, the shell-pink blossom of Prunus pendula f. ascendens ‘Rosea’ forms an avenue along both sides of the garden, followed by the vibrant purples of Syringa vulgaris ‘Sensation’ AGM and Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’ AGM.
A beautiful scheme on the Top Terrace shines in late spring – Wisteria Walk – a contemporary showcase of this popular spring-flowering climber, which is quickly becoming an iconic photo stop as it matures, alongside the stunning froth of more than 100 Japanese Yoshino cherry trees near the Welcome Building.
RHS Garden Bridgewater, Greater Manchester
Drifts of daffodils brighten the Orchard in early spring, as a mass of 20,000 bulbs planted over the last two years come into bloom. In the Community Wellbeing garden, daffodils lead the way for a pageant of spring bulbs, with tulips and alliums following later in spring.
Meanwhile, in the Paradise Garden the delicate, soft pink blossom of cherry trees completely smother the branches of Prunus ‘The Bride’ and P. incisa ‘Praecox’. Hellebores, bergenias and heathers dotted through the beds provide further pops of colour and early-flowering clematis cultivars, including the delightful ‘Apple Blossom’, adorn the garden’s walls.
