Even in the depths of winter, there is a garden that offers an escape to tropical climes. Pat Holt discovers the warmth of RHS Wisley

Rain, wind, frost or snow, there's always a welcome refuge for garden enthusiasts at the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens at Wisley, near Guildford.

The main glasshouses at Wisley are always warm and are filled with lush displays of plants and flowers from the warmer corners of the globe.

There are indoor pools, desert displays, with cacti and succulents, and wide, paved walkways. There is a tropical section, with temperatures around 16C (60F) and a steamy "jungle" atmosphere.

You can see bougainvillea covered in blooms in mid-winter, amid lush palms, forest trees, vines, ferns and climbers.

Orchids are a speciality and most of the more spectacular varieties are in flower in the orchid display house during the winter and spring.

Later this month, from Saturday, January 13 until Sunday, January 21, the Royal Horticultural Society's Education Department is organising a special winter event at Wisley, called Orchids for All.

In the glasshouses, the Orchid Society of Great Britain will be displaying orchid plants from all over the world and floristry departments from local colleges will be creating arrangements, using orchids as cut flowers, specially flown in by Singapore Airlines.

A wide selection of orchids will be on sale in the Wisley plant centre. Experts will be on hand to give advice to amateur growers and there will also be a wide range of specialist books on sale.

After visiting the main glasshouses, you may also like to tour to the alpine houses, which are only a short walk away.

These display houses are unheated, but they do provide shelter from the rain, not only for the visitors, but also for the masses of rock plants, alpine flowers, spring bulbs and many other early flowers which can be seen during January and February.

You will probably need to wear a coat inside these particular glasshouses as the windows are usually open and large fans are used to keep the cool air circulating, providing ideal growing conditions for these exquisite mountain plants.

If you happen to arrive on a pleasant winter's day, you should take the chance to look around at at least part of the main gardens.

There are some 240 acres under cultivation at Wisley, with many wonderful ideas for keen gardeners to "borrow". Don't miss the model gardens - an area where small plots have been carefully designed to create a variety of contrasting garden schemes, suitable for small, suburban gardens.

Even in mid-winter the small, Japanese-style garden is worth a visit, with its bamboo fences, raked gravel, bonsai trees and Japanese ornaments.

The trendy Daily Telegraph garden also looks very striking in winter. This was first seen at the Chelsea Flower Show and has now become one of the model gardens at Wisley.

On a larger scale is the Country Garden, another new development at Wisley, which was officially opened in July 2000. This garden, designed by Penelope Hobhouse, is a cottage-style garden, using a mixture of small trees, shrubs and perennials.

If you wander as far as Battlestone Hill or the low-lying area known as Seven Acres, you will find a remarkable number of shrubs in flower, even in January and February, from verbenas to mahonias and even early-flowering camellias and fruit blossom.

Wisley also has many plants and trees with colourful berries, seed heads, glossy bark, coloured stems and many other interesting winter features.

If you are visiting on a weekday, you might like to join one of the guided tours, costing £1.20 per person. They start from near the main gatehouse at 11am, Mondays to Fridays, and will enable you to find out more about Wisley and its wonderful plant collections.

At a glance

How to get there:

The gardens are well signposted from the A3, seven miles north of Guildford.

Opening times:

During the winter months only, the gardens at Wisley are open to the public seven days per week, from 10am to sunset.

Please note that during the spring, summer and autumn, Sundays are reserved for RHS members and their guests.

Admission:

Adults £5, children 6-16 years £2

Tel: 01483 224234.