Power of plants

Watch out for the Giant Houseplant Takeover at RHS Wisley 

A lost and abandoned Victorian house has been overrun by its only remaining inhabitants – the houseplants, and no it’s not the start to a Gothic novel, it’s just the latest exhibition at RHS Wisley.

Hundreds of houseplants will be growing, overflowing and taking over the Glasshouse at the flagship garden until 1^st March.

Every room is filled with familiar plants in the Giant Houseplant Takeover where a parlour palm is growing out of an armchair, a giant fern is taking a bath and every cup and tea pot features a growth of greenery.

The aim of the exhibition is to inspire visitors to think about quirky and innovative ways to grow houseplants. You’ll wander around a house of six rooms, each featuring different houseplants that have ‘made themselves too much at home’.

Walk through spider plants, devil’s ivy and spiderwort in the hallway through to the living room where a banana plant is growing through the roof and a group if small palms are playing chess.

The mattress and curtains of the four-poster bed have become entwined with bromeliads and in the dining room, tall succulents and cacti are awaiting their Mad Hatter feast with cupcakes which look like Venus fly traps. The bathroom doesn’t escape either with a waterfall pouring through the ceiling  of ferns and moss.

There’s so much to see. General manager Emma Allen said they want to encourage people to be bolder with their houseplants and see that they don’t need to sit in a pot. She added: “We will keep them well fed and watered and can only hope they will leave our visitors in peace.”

The Giant Houseplant Takeover at the Glasshouse is open from 10am to 3.45pm daily until 1^st March and is included in the normal admission price – and watch out as you wander round!