A plant trail that seeks out the rare, exceptional and historic flora to be found on the Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight has long been known as the Garden Isle, a place where plants flourish because of the mild climate and diverse landscape. Nowhere else in Britain is there such a spectacular diversity of habitats within such a small geographical area. Half of the Island is classified an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and much of the countryside is recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. No wonder then that so many unusual plants and trees flourish!

In this Wightlink guide we trace a route around the Isle of Wight to spotlight 20 of the most noteworthy plants in garden collections, nature reserves and out in the wild - from the largest trees to the tiniest flowering species: flora that encourages wildlife, from the endangered red squirrel and dormouse to a huge number of rare birds, butterflies and insects.

Some of the plants are exceptionally rare, like the little-known Field Cow-wheat and Autumn Squill. Others are of great historical importance, including the splendid Cork Oak specimens at Osborne House and the Chinese Fan Palm in Ventnor Botanic Garden, one of the first to be introduced into Britain. Continuing the tradition of introducing new plants, the trail spotlights Afton Park’s naturalistic gardens and Ventnor’s Southern Hemisphere collection, featuring new introductions from South Africa and New Zealand.

We’ve also included two important National Collections held on the Isle of Wight, for the Nerine and the Daylily – among the most beautiful of flowering plants. And there’s much more besides, from the world’s largest apple to the Isle of Wight’s County Flower – the Pyramidal Orchid.

The Wightlink trail has been designed to provide plenty of reasons to visit the Isle of Wight through the seasons, from the first flowerings of spring to the brilliant woodland colour in autumn. Each plant is colour coded to recommend the best time to see it and we have also made sure that the wild plants can easily be seen by following footpaths or forestry tracks.

Although the wild flora needs to be left undisturbed to flourish in its natural environment, a real bonus for plant lovers is that most of the garden collections have great shops with a wide variety of plants – often rare ones – for sale. So you can take home a memory of the Isle of Wight and see it grow to maturity.

If the idea of a Rare Plant Trail on the Isle of Wight has taken root, why not check out or latest special offers for money-saving ways of getting there? Click here for details.