Wisley
was looking its best for our second coach outing in 2012 with much to
see during our morning visit. I particularly enjoyed: the long borders,
the redesigned old rose rope walk with its mixed planting, the hydrangeas
and the lily pond. The individual show gardens however get no better
and are not a good advertisement for the RHS. On a more cheerful note,
whilst we were there one of the assessment panels were carrying out
their duties in the trials’ field and we were able to say hallo
to two old favourites of the LHS, Marina Christopher and Fergus Garrett,
strangely they did not ask me to join in the voting….
In the
afternoon we visited Hinton Ampner in Hampshire which is a very restful
garden; an attribute which is well caught in Carolyn Nurse’s accompanying
photographs. The site is blessed with stunning vistas over the adjoining
countryside, and the individual gardens take up this theme and successfully
blend in with their surroundings. The house itself has only recently
been opened to the public and has a very friendly “lived in”
feel to it and much to admire.
Martin Higgins