Wisley

On Monday to Wisley to take a gander at its summer clothes, which turned out to be splendid indeed, particular the borders. One with a wide grass centre with paved edges for visitors to stand and peer on, one with a narrower, stepped and paved centre.

Lilies, domesticated rather than the wild ones at the Spa (see previous post), looking well.

A turn round the two alpine houses which, if not as splendid as earlier in the year when the spring flowers were out, still contained plenty of interest. The rock gardens below the houses looking well too, with cunning use of unmown summer grass, a feature I rather like and which is used to very good effect at Nonsuch Park. Grass mowing department at Epsom & Ewell Council to take note.

I tried to locate these two borders on both the map that comes with the site and the aerial photograph which comes with google. After something of a struggle, I have decided that wide centre runs roughly north and south, immediately to the west of the outdoor plant shop, which shop might carry a bigger range of plants than the Chessington Garden Centre, although I think that the two places are connected to some of the same wholesalers. Not very confident, but narrower centre might connect the rose garden to the wide centre, running west and east. I completely failed to pick out the alpine houses on Google, despite their being a numbered item on the map. The lily ponds I did manage, as water, at least, is distinctive when photographed from above.

All of which goes to show that the interpretation of aerial photographs for military purposes must be quite difficult enough now, never mind during the second world war (in support of bombing campaigns) when one supposes that the quality is not what one gets now.

I also learned that streetview gets you to the entrance to the car park but no further. Perhaps the Google people are in negotiation with RHS about that. But one cannot complain about the quality of the aerial photography of the gardens which was very good.