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 Wellbeing Garden

Welcome to the Wellbeing Garden – a space filled with ideas for gardening for body and soul

Good to know...

Now open The Wellbeing Garden forms part of the development of RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science and opened on 24 June 2021
Healing through gardening Our scientists will use the garden to continue their research on the benefits of gardening to our health

The Wellbeing Garden perfectly frames the front of RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science

Breathing life into Wisley

The link between gardening and wellbeing is an undeniable one and is well established by our own research.

What better way then to celebrate than with this health and wellbeing garden designed by Matt Keightley, an RHS Chelsea award winning designer already established as putting wellness at the heart of his gardens.

In his design, Matt took the RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science to be metaphorical lungs breathing new life into RHS Wisley and the horticultural industry. Inspired by this metaphor, the garden is reminiscent of capillaries, allowing flow around the space and into the surrounding areas.

The space is made up of several ‘garden rooms’

Benefitting physical and mental health

A scattering of Styphnolobium japonicum (Japanese pagoda tree) paired with drifts of Pinus mugo (dwarf pines) mark the route to RHS Hilltop and draw people in.

Moving through the pines, the garden takes on a softer form, combining grasses and perennials that drift gently into the calming heart of the garden.

A succession of ‘garden rooms’ are set amongst large fragmented beds, positioned to entice visitors to explore and enjoy the many ways gardens can support physical and psychological therapy, natural health care or simply to relax in.

The garden opened in June 2021

The restful sound of water

A water rill will meander through the garden with the source close to the RHS Hilltop building, giving the sense of information flowing from the science labs and into the garden beyond, the therapeutic sound of gently tinkling water setting the tone for visitors.

The water winds its way through the courtyard between trees, past seating areas before disappearing into the planting beyond. Visitors will be encouraged to explore and seek out the water’s end.

Get lost in thought as you take one of any number of paths around the garden

Every visit a new experience

The garden blends into RHS Wisley perfectly, merging seamlessly into the surrounding gardens, but maintaining its own identity.

A myriad of different paths make for an almost limitless number of routes through the garden, making every repeat visit a new and exciting experience.

Plants in this section

National Lottery Heritage Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded £4 million to support the transformation at RHS Wisley, with more than half going towards RHS Hilltop. This grant will also help fund inspirational activity programmes to further knowledge and skills, and widen engagement.

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.