Wilderness

Ten days or so ago, back to the wilderness at Hampton Court to see the spring flowers there. Something we used to manage most years, but which we do not appear to have managed - at least on the search key 'wilderness hampton' since 2020. See reference 1.

Some of this visit has already been noticed under the search key 'hca', a search key convention I made quite a lot of use in the past, but that apart the most recent visit appears to have been last May, as noticed at reference 2. I was surprised that it was so long ago. Wisley and Kew between them seemed to have scooped that pool.

Back to the present visit, action at the prime building site between the railway station and the river seemed to have stalled, despite having finally got planing permission, for which see reference 3.

The rather tatty collection of boats tied up on the downstream side of the bridge had been cleared away. Maybe something to do with the layer of fine sand covering the landing. I thought the brickwork looked reasonably new, well under a hundred years old - making the ironwork a bit fancier than I would have expected. Wouldn't get it now.

BH had been reading about how the scaffolding needed for renovation work was going to be dressed up to look something like the original gate house, a good deal higher than what we have now. Sadly, work in progress.

The tulip festival was not slated to start for some weeks, but there was quite a lot of tulip action already, in mid-March. Six petals, in two whorls of three, and six stamens? While the ladies department inside can only muster three segment?

With some in the rose garden, where we sat for a bit in the sun. After some years, I have got used to - and now like - the new planting.

Interesting yellows flowers, which Google Images tells me is a Cootamundra wattle, aka Acacia baileyana, from Australia. Does OK in mild situations in the UK, as on this south facing wall. While reference 4 confirms my rater vague thought that maybe it was a mimosa. On the other hand, there are a lot of different mimosas, with one - Leucaena leucocephala - having cropped up as a minor digresion at reference 5.

While regarding the new-to-us but handsome yellow flowers lower left, Google Images says that it is one of the Persian lilies, aka Fritillaria persica. Nothing like the snakes head fritillaries in our garden.

With tiresome wicker art left. Hopefully it will eventually rot and not be replaced. Why do otherwise attractive gardens have to do this sort of thing?

White cedar looking well right, with a fine magnolia to its left. Metasequoias above and left.

From the other side, where we took another sit.

In between, no rock cake, but I did take a bacon bap with my tea, which involved a great deal of bacon and not such much bap. But all least there was no cheese, lettuce, mayo or anything else of that sort.

The chaps on the counter explained that they were now Compass rather than Company of Cooks, the former having taken the latter over. Which is confirmed at reference 6. While at Wisley, I think they have retained the 'Company of Cooks' branding. They also said that they thought 'Maids of Honour' tarts were back on the menu - but not on theirs.

Pleased to see that, among all the (handsome) tulips in the vegetable garden, there were still some plots of broad beans. Surprised to see that first they were netting some of them, which I never bothered with, and second that they were in flower. Which seems terribly early.

Some of the tulips.

Daffodils at the entrance to the wilderness.

Some regular fritillaries, much more like the ones in our garden. And doing much better: ours persist but they are not like these ones.

Some more daffodils. Some of them, seen up close with the sun behind them, looked really special.

Plus a pair of snoggers on what I would have thought would have been rather damp grass. Obviously too young to care about that.

Lots of school parties, but the place was big enough that they did not intrude.

Some of the more formal beds on the east terrace looked pretty good too.

Hard to be sure about the petal count, even under zoom. I think I need to take one to pieces. Maybe I can pinch one of BH's for the purpose, from our own garden.

The privy garden was looking pretty good too, bearing in mind that the fish-eye lens of my telephone is rather misleading on these longer shots.

And beyond that, lots of the distinctive Tudor chimneys. I wonder how original they are.

The water hawthorn was doing well, in flower, in one of the sunken gardens. Ours, such as it is, was buried in duckweed for most of last year and is buried by dead leaves now. First seen in a large pond at Two Bridges on Dartmoor.

Just some of the fancy scaffolding going up around the place.

Out and onto our usual cafe in Bridge Road for a snack. In my case, the rabbit pasta on a board outside being absent, a baguette with more than enough filling for two or more baguettes. I should have asked them for an empty baguette, just to make the point. Baguettes not that great either, while I am at it: adequate rather than good. BH was better pleased with her sandwich, but I forget now what it was: tuna?

Interesting to see how many people were put off by the coffee machine being out of action. But then I have never drunk coffee much, and not at all at present. Not after the wobble at Kew, previously noticed.

And so home. To be impressed by the amount of physical security about what used to be the Marquis of Granby on the Isles of Scilly roundabout. I think a drive-in McDonald's would be the answer, an answer which might be able to make a go of the site, but I expect that the heritage people would see that one off. They don't have to make these places work.

A day when aeroplanes had been taking off to the east, rather than to the usual west. 

A day when we managed a good number of pleasant sits in the sun. A place with a good supply of benches.

Back home, I managed to correct the clock in the car without too much bother; a clock which seems to lose a minute or so a month, so presumably not connected. The salesman had assured us at the time of purchase that this fine nearly new car would take care of summertime - which turned out yesterday not to be the case. Probably easier to poke around in settings again, rather than going over to Volkswagen at Drift Bridge, a bit of a hike from where we are.

After which I took some freshly made lemonade in out last remaining tumbler called Sheila. I was quite impressed with myself for remembering its name, confirmed by eBay selling lots of them. Too dear to think of restocking, handsome tumblers though they were.

PS: 20260331: no doubt about the number of petals on this tulip, snapped on a front verge on my circuit. I associate now to a vague memory of Gemini - or perhaps one of his friends - telling me that there was no connection between the number of petals of an orange flower and the number of segments of an orange, often, as I recall, ten; perhaps double the usual number of petals of the flower. Reference 7 (and an onward reference from there) gets me quite close. Once again, all much more complicated than my vague memory had suggested.

This being a day which, as it happened, saw another round of Sheila, there being an open lemon to hand. Am I getting a taste for the stuff?

References

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/03/spring-flowers-etc.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/05/hampton-court.html.

Reference 3:https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-palace.html.

Reference 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_baileyana.

Reference 5: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/11/gemini-pigs-and-acorns.html.

Reference 6: https://www.compass-group.co.uk/media/news/chco-joins-compass-group-uk-ireland-in-landmark-acquisition/. From April 2024.

Reference 7: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/10/tomatoes-and-other-matters.html. From October 2025.

Group search keys: 20260319, hca.