Wakehurst
Southern Hemisphere Garden
Explore rare and wonderful plants from the Southern Hemisphere in this unique landscape made up of wild-collected plants.
Southern Hemisphere GardenTony Schilling Asian Heath Garden
Explore the trees and shrubs of East and Central Asia as you head deeper into Wakehurst.
The Asian Heath Garden is full of fascinating trees and shrubs from China, Japan and Korea.
Our evolving collection includes some lovely birches (Betula), hazels (Corylus) and rhododendrons.
Kew Science has an active conservation programme in central Asian Kyrgyzstan, a country with amazing wild flowers. We’re using beds in the Asian Heath Garden to explore how we turn Kyrgyzstan’s meadow plant communities into garden design.
Find the Tony Schilling Asian Heath Garden at marker 18 on our Map of Wakehurst
A little bit of history
Tony Schilling, a former Wakehurst curator, was renowned for his Himalayan plant hunting. The Asian Heath Garden was one of Wakehurst’s first wild landscapes and we’re now planning its next chapter. Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are full of wonderful garden plants: irises, fox-tail Lilies, wild apples, pears and figs. Look out for new arrivals and trial beds as plants arrive from these countries.
Designed landscapes
This is one of our designed landscapes, where Wakehurst begins to get dramatic and wild. In these areas, we use wild collected plants arranged by country. The system is called phytogeographic planting – offering a chance to travel the world in the heart of Sussex.
Discover more of Wakehurst
Wakehurst
The Mansion Gardens
Over 200 years, the residents of Wakehurst’s Mansion acquired plants from all over the world, surrounding the estate with beautiful intimate gardens across the seasons.
The Mansion Gardens
Wakehurst
Daily guided walking tour of Wakehurst
See plants of seasonal interest and discover the fascinating history of Wakehurst on this guided tour.
Daily guided walking tour