Monday November 01, 2004

Wisley worth a visit

If you like flowers and don't want to get wet Wisley Gardens is the place to go this or next weekend. The garden has a temperate/cool house which at this time of the year is "awash with spectacular displays of charm and cascade chrysanthemums. Regarded by many as the best collection in the UK the plants have been grown under the watchful eye of Superintendant Nick Morgan since the cuttings were taken last February. The cascades have been carefully trained, often resembling waterfalls, while the charms form huge upturned bowls fully 60cm across, yet with little or no pruning." I quote from the RHS Garden magazine insert "Gardens and events".

The garden at Wisley has many other things to look at this year and the magazine says the alpine house is also very impressive ( as it is all year as plants are rotated into the house). The new Japanese inspired waterfall by the alpine house is also impressive and soon the winter heathers will be out.

Back home I have erected my temporary greenhouse over the herb wheel to keep the worst of the winter weather off it and the banana is also in this temporary house after a bit of careful pruning. My Clematis Jackmania has been pruned back to ground level ,Jackmania is one of those you DO prune as it will grow back next year and benefits from this harsh pruning. This years fruiting canes are now removed off my thornless blackberry and I have now removed most of the remaining annuals.

The grass has had what I hope is its last autumn cut and the mower cleaned and stored away. As it now gets dark before I get home gardening work has to be done at weekends.

Another TV channel - will this be worth worth watching...????

ITV3 launches tonight.

The Sunday times review section comments on it ".. further investigation into the channels scheduling suggests it has been designed with the elderly or housebound in mind, so expect more single barrelled detectives, such as Frost or Morse and ancient episodes of Who Want to Be a Millionaire?".

Well sorry ST but if this is what they show I think the audiences will be larger than as you suggest and cable TV receiver is not going to stray far off channel 118... :<)

As a postscript it appears Granada plus has been taken off the air. So ITV3 is a re-badge.