Back to Hampton Court Palace gardens last week, the first time for around six months, the last visit looking to have been noticed at reference 1. The prompt for the visit was a tulip festival.
Quite surprised to find the car park - the one in the Palace rather than the one at the station across the river - was more or less full. Fortunately it is a big place, so distances maintained for much of the visit, with only the Privy Garden area being a bit crowded.
First stop the vegetable garden, where things were in much better shape than I remembered from last time, with lots of planting going on. The large flower clusters on the gooseberry right caught my eye, as I didn't remember flower clusters like these from my days of growing gooseberries. Cabbage plants under nets beyond, and some tulips beyond that.
On a bit of south facing wall we had an apricot tree which seemed to have a good set considering the rather mixed weather we have been having - including quite a lot of frost.
Pleased to see that they were still doing broad beans, even if some plantings were doing rather better than others. While I wondered, not for the first time, why broad beans were so expensive to buy in shops, considering how easy they are to grow. Expensive to pick? Bulky? Don't travel well?
All in all, a very addition to the various attractions on offer at the Palace.
Through the rose garden where there seemed to have been a lot of cutting back of the old-fashioned rose bushes. But echiums all present and correct, with a row of them standing about six feet high against a wall.
Through the Wilderness where there was plenty of blossom, although the spring bulbs were coming to an end. And we did find a bad infestation of mistletoe. It might not be killing the tree, but it can't be doing it much good.
Into the east garden where we wandered along to the north wall to take our picnic on one of the benches there. The bread for which was noticed at reference 1. But plenty of sun and only a few other people. A very pleasant place to sit. With the view snapped above.
Plus we had a low flying Chinook, looking very new, heading north.
A lot of the trees in the avenue had mistletoe in them, and I think if I was head gardener, I would think seriously about cutting it out of them. More than enough of the stuff around without messing up the avenue trees.
We couldn't get into what used to be called the Apprentices' Garden, snapped above, but we did mark down what appeared to be a Wellingtonia for scoring on another occasion, when we can get a bit nearer. Heron to the right.
Quite a lot of beds with massed tulips, looking well. And I was confused for at least thirty seconds by some beds with ornamental onions, mistaking the waxing flower heads of onions for the waning flower heads of tulips.
Some tiresome wicker art in some of the beds, fortunately not too much. The sort of thing which can be a bit of a pain at Wisley.
Privy Gardens, sunken gardens and orangery mini garden all looking well, with a scatter of interesting tulips, some quite small, rather than the massed ranks out in the east garden. Including some in proper tulip stands, perhaps borrowed from inside. A junior version of the sort of thing included towards the end of reference 3.
Plus some model action in one of the sunken gardens. Couple of models and a whole team of assistants, camera men and all the rest of it. Sadly we passed during a break in the proceedings, so we didn't get the full monty. Although one of them did pose quite nicely while one of the assistants kneeling at her feet changed her shoes for her.
An excellent visit. The place continues to earn its annual subscription.
PS: they might been infested with mistletoe, but they seem to be doing OK on the box tree caterpillars, the ones that took down my twenty five year old box bushes. Plenty of healthy looking box, for example in the cabbage patch, as can be seen in the snap at the top.
Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/04/time-for-white.html.
Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/09/return-to-court.html.
Reference 3: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/10/sunday-lunch.html.
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