Our archive collections include the official archive of the Royal Horticultural Society and the collected archives of many individuals and horticultural organisations. The RHS archive captures the development of the Society and its role in supporting gardeners such as the inmates of the Ruhleben Internment Camp in World War One. Plant collectors, breeders, nurserymen, garden designers and many more are also represented, with key archives including those of William Robinson, E.A. Bowles, Gertrude Jekyll, Constance Spry, Russell Page and Roy Lancaster. Gardeners’ letters, diaries and notebooks reveal their approach to the art, science and craft of gardening.

Together these fascinating collections trace the development of gardening and its impact on our landscape and lives.

The Herbarium’s collection has a focus on ornamental plants and contains dried specimens, images and paintings of garden plants past and present. Using a method only slightly different to that invented in the early 1500s, our curators create specimens that not only are beautiful but also are vital for plant naming. A dried plant specimen enables researchers to study a plant during any season and year, and these days can also be used as a source of viable DNA for molecular investigations of our garden plants.

Complementing the Library and archives holdings, our Herbarium includes collections made by horticultural heroes including E.K. Janaki Ammal, Roy Lancaster and George Forrest; plants now extinct in gardens; even a centenarian that is still alive in Wisley’s glasshouse.

Our art collection consists primarily of original botanical illustrations. These are plant portraits that combine scientific information with expert draughtsmanship and beautiful presentation. Botanical illustration offers an immediately accessible way of understanding and appreciating a plant.

The collection features renowned artists such as Claude Aubriet, Georg Dionysius Ehret, Franz Bauer and August Wilhelm Sievert. In addition there are special paintings to honour royal patrons and portraits of award-winning orchids. The collection also features portraits, garden views and decorative flower paintings. We continue to acquire new works by contemporary artists that are of an exceptional standard.

Our book collection dates back to 1806, when the Society was given a gift of five French gardening books. Through generous donations, the collection continued to grow and today we hold one of the finest collections of horticultural literature in the world.

This is a very small taste of our rare book collection, featuring treasures such as the first book written in English for urban gardeners and our earliest list of plants for sale, dating back to 1612. Our aim is to digitise a selection of special and unique works, rather than replicate titles already digitised by other organisations. You can search our entire book collection on our library catalogue.