Wet winter gardening, woodland walks and pruning wisteria

This week, we’re heading to RHS Garden Wisley to discover how its horticulturists are turning one of the wettest starts to the year on record into a garden that’s primed for spring. Team leader Helen Bensted-Smith shares some top tips for gardening in persistently soggy conditions, and explains why increasingly wet winters and dry summers are challenges we need to adapt to rather than battle against. Guy Barter takes us on a seasonal stroll through Oakwood, which is coming into its own at this time of year, and has plenty of take-home ideas for gardening in damp shade. And finally, we popped in to see Liam Anderson, who’s hard at work pruning the 75m Wisteria Walk. In just a few months, it will be transformed into a spectacular tunnel of cascading purple and white blooms.

Host: Nick Turrell

Contributors: Helen Bensted-Smith, Guy Barter, Liam Anderson

Links:

How to choose plants for seasonally wet and dry soils (rhs.org.uk/plants/for-places/wet-dry-soils)

RHS daffodil diaries (rhs.org.uk/science/daffodil-diaries)

Sarcococca (rhs.org.uk/plants/sarcococca)

Wisteria pruning video (youtube.com/watch?v=F6e043fS9Lk)

Wisteria at Wisley (rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/articles/wisteria-in…)