Every season, this 101-hectare (250-acre) garden, one of the great gardens of England, has a profusion of flowers and shrubs, ranging from the alpine meadow carpeted with wild daffodils in spring, to Battleston Hill brilliant with rhododendrons in early summer, to the heather garden's colorful foliage in fall, and a riot of exotic plants in the greenhouses in winter. Model gardens and a landscaped orchid house can also be visited. Mid-2007 saw the opening of the massive Glasshouse, which shelters endangered and delicate plants from three climatic zones. This greenhouse looks onto a manicured man-made lake. This garden is the site of a laboratory where botanists, plant pathologists, and entomologists experiment and assist amateur gardeners. A large gift shop stocks a variety of gardening books.