NOTHING could dampen the excitement – not even the rain - at RHS Garden Wisley on Monday when Britain’s best-loved gardener, RHS Ambassador and Vice-President Alan Titchmarsh, opened a new multi-million pound building with a promise to get Greening Great Britain.

To celebrate the opening of the welcome building, Alan hung his ‘Greening Great Britain Promise’ on a cherry tree in front of the new centre. His pledge to continue his support for specialist British nurseries and encourage the nation’s 27 million gardeners to do the same was in support of the RHS-led campaign.

He was helped by three-year-old RHS life member Rosie O’Hare, who was born at the garden in 2016, and was wearing a floral crown as she helped Alan to hang his promise on the tree joining hundreds of others who have already given their promise to “Greening Great Britain”

Alan said: “Millions visit Wisley every year to be inspired by the horticulture on display and now the RHS flagship site will be a permanent showcase to celebrate specialist UK growers, just as it does at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and its other world-famous events. These plant specialists lovingly grow the rarest, most unusual and beautiful varieties in the world, which thrive in UK gardens because they’re so used to our climate.”

The new state-of-the-art welcome building includes a bigger Plant Centre covering 5000sqm, will be selling Britains biggest variety of rare and unusual plants as part of the its stock and will show tens of thousands of plants and feature displays by specialist UK growers all year round.

The centre also contains improved visitor facilities including a spacious arrivals hall, a 100-seater restaurant, a bigger selection of gardening and artisan products and a larger café.

For the full story get the 13 June edition of the News & Mail