Editing Royal Horticultural Society (section)

== Gardens ==
[[File:Greenhouse John Claudius Loudon 1818.png|thumb|Greenhouse design for Royal Horticultural Society by [[John Claudius Loudon]], 1818]]

The Royal Horticultural Society's five major gardens in [[England]] are: [[RHS Garden Wisley|Wisley Garden]], near [[Wisley]] in [[Surrey]]; [[Rosemoor Garden]] in [[Devon]]; [[RHS Garden, Hyde Hall|Hyde Hall]] in [[Essex]]; [[RHS Garden, Harlow Carr|Harlow Carr]] in [[Harrogate]], [[North Yorkshire]] and RHS Garden, Bridgewater in [[Worsley]], [[Greater Manchester]].

The society's first garden was in [[Kensington]], from 1818 to 1822. In 1820 the society leased some of [[Hugh Ronalds]]' nursery ground at Little [[Ealing]] to set up an experimental garden,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ronalds|first=B.F.|date=2017|title=Ronalds Nurserymen in Brentford and Beyond|journal=Garden History|volume=45|pages=82–100}}</ref> but the next year part of the [[Duke of Devonshire]]'s estate at [[Chiswick]] was obtained. In 1823 it employed [[Joseph Paxton]] there. From 1827 the society held [[fête]]s at the Chiswick garden, and from 1833, shows with competitive classes for flowers and vegetables. In 1861 the RHS (as it had now become) developed a new garden at [[South Kensington]] on land leased from the [[Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851]] (the [[Science Museum, London|Science Museum]], [[Imperial College London|Imperial College]] and the [[Royal College of Music]] now occupy the site), but it was closed in 1882.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Albertopolis/TheStoryOf/RHSGardens/Decline.aspx| title=RHS Gardens: Decline of the gardens in South Kensington| publisher=[[Royal Institute of British Architects]]| access-date=14 December 2010| archive-date=29 July 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729182013/http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Albertopolis/TheStoryOf/RHSGardens/Decline.aspx| url-status=dead}}</ref> The Chiswick garden was maintained until 1903–1904, by which time Sir Thomas Hanbury had bought the garden at Wisley and presented it to the RHS.

RHS Garden Wisley is thus the society's oldest garden. Rosemoor came next, presented by [[Lady Anne Berry]] in 1988. Hyde Hall was given to the RHS in 1993 by its owners Dick and Helen Robinson. Dick Robinson was also the owner of the [[Harry Smith Collection]] which was based at Hyde Hall. Then came Harlow Carr, acquired by the merger of the Northern Horticultural Society with the RHS in 2001. It had been the Northern Horticultural Society's trial ground and display garden since they bought it in 1949. In 2013, more than 1.63 million people visited the four gardens.<ref name=rev1314 />

In 2015 the RHS announced plans for a fifth garden at [[Worsley New Hall]], Greater Manchester, under the name [[RHS Garden Bridgewater]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/pdf/Bridgewater/Bridgewater-Consultation-Boards.pdf|title=Bridgewater Consultation Boards|date=2017|website=RHS.org.uk|access-date=2020-09-15|archive-date=2020-09-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916035817/https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/pdf/Bridgewater/Bridgewater-Consultation-Boards.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The garden opened in May 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bridgewater opens May 2021 |url=http://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/bridgewater/articles/bridgewater-open |access-date=2022-10-28 |website=www.rhs.org.uk |language=en-gb |archive-date=2022-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028132541/https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/bridgewater/articles/bridgewater-open |url-status=live }}</ref>