Dahlia mania - the Exotic Garden at Wisley
On the wettest August day in a long time I thought it would be a good idea to visit RHS Wisley. How wet could it be I thought …
The Glasshouse Borders were looking windswept and the Long Borders were a little past their best but the Exotic Garden was still looking on top form.
The big leaves, bright colours and lushness of the Exotic Garden reminded me a little bit of Barbados. Even the rain added to the atmosphere. Here, the huge leaves of bananas and Cannas provide the jungly backdrop to the brightly coloured Canna flowers and the slightly more delicate and papery bells of orange Abutilon flowers.
Cannas are hungry plants and need to be well-fed and watered through the growing season. In milder areas you can keep them in the ground through winter. The flowers are pretty showy but it’s the leaves I really like. Often they are striped and multi-coloured.
The most recognisable highlights of the Exotic Garden though are the Dahlias. There were dozens of different varieties dotted around, however, very few of them were named - not very RHS I thought.
Many of you will know that Dahlias are enjoying a resurgence in popularity after years in the doldrums. Originating in Mexico they are relatively easy to grow in the UK if you follow a few simple rules. They make excellent flowers for cutting.
Dahlias prefer rich, free draining soils so if you’re gardening on heavy, unimproved clay you’ll need to lift them after the first frost. When planting new ones make sure it’s after the last frost of spring.
Many Dahlias have very large flowers and/or can reach heights of six feet. In these cases they’ll need staking - do it sooner rather than later.
Dahlias really benefit from regular feeding - you can use diluted tomato food twice a week. And dead-heading prolongs flowering.
The flowers come in lots of different colours and shapes. The National Dahlia Society has 14 different flower shape types (including miscellaneous). Generally, the simpler the shape the better the flower is for pollinators.
Dahlias can be prone to attacks from slugs and snails just as they are getting going and later from aphids and earwigs so keep an eye out for them.
Most people find them a delight to grow and their sheer exhuberance makes them the highlight of late summer and early autumn.
RHS Wisley is open every day and generally you have to book a timed entry. However, as the day I went was so wet many people had cancelled and I was able to get in without booking. I did call first to check though.
The shopping and catering facilities have increased vastly since my last visit (as has the size of the carpark - be prepared to walk upto a couple of hundred yards just to get to the entrance).
By the way, the rain stopped just before it closed, pretty wet then.