RHS Garden Wisley is one of the world’s great gardens, packed with horticultural inspiration.RHS Garden Wisley is one of the world’s great gardens, packed with horticultural inspiration.

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The Alpine Meadow

The grassy slope next to the Rock Garden is the Alpine Meadow, famous for its carpets of spring bulbs

Looking its best in....

Spring Crocuses, hoop petticoat daffodils, dog's tooth violets, Fritillaria meleagris
Summer Dactylorhiza orchids, yellow rattle, butterflies
Autumn Crocus speciosus (autumn flowering crocus)
Winter Snowdrops, hellebores

Snowdrops lead the way

The meadow’s year begins when the large collection of snowdrops begins to flower.

By late winter and early spring, the meadow is transformed into a carpet of blue as Crocus tommasinianus (early crocus) and C. vernus come into bloom. These are part of Wisley’s National Plant Collection of Crocus - you can see more plants from the collection in the Alpine Display Houses, behind the Bowes-Lyon Pavilion and on the Conifer Lawn.

Spring highlights

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Crocus tommasinianus 'Whitewell Purple'

early crocus 'Whitewell Purple'

Narcissus bulbocodium (13)

hoop petticoat daffodil

Fritillaria meleagris var. unicolor subvar. alba

white-flowered snake's head fritillary

Sheets of golden daffodils

The meadow peaks in mid spring when Narcissus bulbocodium (hoop petticoat daffodil) bloom in their thousands, creating a sheet of sulphur-yellow.

The meadow also provides perfect conditions for Erythronium dens-canis (dog's tooth violet), Fritillaria meleagris (snake’s head fritillary) and primulas to thrive.

Summer and beyond

In late spring and early summer, the spikes of Dactylorhiza orchids appear, followed by bright yellow rattle.

Once the bulbs finish flowering, the grass is left uncut until late summer so that the seeds can drop to the soil and butterflies and other insects are provided with food and shelter. The meadow is mown closely before Crocus speciosus (autumn-flowering crocus) appears.

Plants in this section

You may also be interested in...

See plantsman Graham Rice's top 10 trailing alpines »

Discover the Daffodil Trails at Threave Garden, an RHS Partner Garden »

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