Tis tulip time! Tulips provide welcome splashes of colour in spring, with a huge variety of colours and lots of flower shape variations.

You don’t have to go far to see a fantastic display of tulips. While there’s a lot to see RHS Garden Wisley at the moment, tulips are the stars of the show, and must not be missed.

The RHS gardeners planted more than a quarter of a million tulip bulbs to create the display, with colours ranging from deep purple to fiery red and orange to soft pastel pink.

There may have been a chilling breeze when I visited last week, but the sun was out and the tulip displays were stunning: great splashes of vibrant colour right across the garden, especially in the lawns encircling the Glasshouse and lake.

Tulips were introduced to cultivation after being found growing wild over much of the Near East and Central Asia. The name “tulip” is thought to be derived from a Persian word for turban, and it’s likely those who discovered the flowers gave them this nickname due to their resemblance to a turban.

Besides the tulips, there is plenty else to see at the moment at RHS Wisley. We moved to the area around the RHS Hilltop building (“The home of Gardening science”): on one side is the Wildlife Garden, where the ponds are teeming with tadpoles, while on the other is the World Food Garden where we walked among beds filled with edibles from around the world, from familiar and exotic vegetables to herbs and spices.

We also paid a visit to the “Old Laboratory” (the beautiful building beside the original garden entrance) which was at the centre of RHS science research for over a century until that work moved to the new RHS Hilltop building two years ago.

Last month the Old Laboratory opened its doors to the public for the first time. A lecture theatre and several of its rooms and laboratories have been turned into exhibition spaces which bring to life many of the hidden stories of Wisley’s past: they show how the learning and experimentation that took place there has influenced how we garden in the UK and around the world today.

RHS librarians have scoured archives, cupboards, storerooms and attics, uncovering fascinating material and stories along with many old scientific objects which have been put on display, from the actual microscopes used in vital scientific research to a copper contraption for “boiling” daffodil bulbs which saved the popular flower from extinction.

A temporary exhibition within the Old Laboratory features a fascinating collection of watercolours signed by the charity’s royal patrons. It includes the signature watercolours produced for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee last year, which has her final signature.

There is no additional charge to enter the Old Laboratory but, as space inside the building is limited, the RHS asks visitors to book a time slot in advance. For details and to book visit www.rhs.org.uk/wisleylaboratory

For full details of what you can see this spring at RHS Garden Wisley and garden entry charges (free for RHS members) visit www.rhs.org.uk/wisley or call 01483 224234.