Seven Acres

The beauty of water

Seven Acres has two water displays: a lake and a smaller ‘Round Pond’, originally dug as a gravel pit to provide gravel for garden paths. The two ponds are separated by a grass causeway with a small weir, which gives the impression that the two are connected. 

Elegant sculptures of two cranes, by Gail Runyon Perry, seem to dance on the surface of the lake, and on the bank you’ll find the Chinese Pavilion, originally built in the style of a Chinese temple for an exhibit at the 2005 Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.
 

In autumn, large groups of asters come to the fore in the Equinox Borders, complemented by autumn flowering Kniphofia (red-hot poker), hardy fuchsias and Hesperantha (crimson flag lily). There are 650 Aster plants across 20 cultivars – many of them new to Wisley.

Another feature plant is Euonymus (spindle), including several mature plants relocated from the arboretum. All of these have excellent autumn colour and some stunning fruit and seed pods, such as E. ‘Popcorn’ and E. ‘Rising Sun’.

The magic of winter

The Winter Walk offers a fantastic assortment of plants chosen for their winter colour, shape, structure and scent. Wrap up warm and follow the hard-surfaced pathways to discover what makes winter gardens extra special.

Snakebark maples such as Acer davidii Viper (‘Mindavi’) and Acer × conspicuum ‘Phoenix’ have intriguing ‘skin’, which contrasts with the glossy, rich red, flaky bark of Prunus serrula (Tibetan cherry).

Colourful stems of different dogwoods and willows create a rainbow of colours, which look especially spectacular on a sunny day. The bright red stems of Cornus alba Baton Rouge (‘Minbat’) are truly eye-catching, whereas the white, wiry stems of brambles look quite ghostly.

Fragrance fills the air thanks to Hamamelis (witch hazel) and daphnes, and at ground level, irises and hellebores enrich the scene below characterful conifers such as Thuja plicata ‘Whipcord’ (western red cedar).