Wisleyan pizza

At the end of June, a visit to Wisley, not that long after the visit noticed at reference 1 and prompting a raft of minor posts, including references 2 (orchids) and 3 (trolleys). With another of the products of the present visit being the rare snap of the two of us together, included above.

We had set off around 09:30 and had an easy run, massive roadworks at the A3/M25 interchange notwithstanding. And we managed not to miss our exit and end up near Guildford. And we were early enough to get into visitor car park No.1.

On the way in, we bumped into a couple, not that young, who had cycled over from Balham, a round trip of around 80km. They found it a comfortable length for a spin, with nothing much in the way of hills. A while since I would contemplate such a run!

Leaving the shop and cafe at the entrance aside, the first item of interest was this ripening magnolia fruit, with that nearest the telephone exhibiting at least two families of phyllotactical spirals. The cucumber tree (Magnolia acuminata), mainly of the eastern part of North America, named for the cucumbery appearance of its fruit.

The weeping Atlas cedar, in which I used to take an interest, was doing well. A sort of tree I first noticed at reference 4, getting on for 15 years ago now and still looking well in Street View. Trees noticed from time to time since then.

The telephone has rather overdone the contrast on another plant in which I am taking an interest, but Google Images has no trouble identifying it as the Lily of the Incas, aka Alstroemeria.

Into the big glass house to inspect some of the plants there. Starting with the striking orchid above.

Fascinated as ever by the strange forms of the cacti and succulents. Presumably the long stem middle left involves spirals.

But without taking one apart, I don't think I am going to sort out where exactly they are. 

Agave 'bad hair day' of reference 5. One of a number of agave hybrids. A member of the asparagus family (Asparagaceae). Google Images struggled a bit on this one, even when cropped a bit to help it along, including lots of other stuff along with various agaves - not this one - among its suggestions. Maybe I needed to blot out the background in some more sophisticated way than cropping.

Unknown. Google Images not clear again, although some kind of aloe looks likely, maybe one of the tree aloes of reference 6. But San Diego Zoo is clearly the place, if reference 7 is anything to go by. Try and remember to look at the label next time we are at Wisley - which should not be too long as I have books to return to their library.

Then, after typing the above, I find I already have the label, the quiver tree (Aloidendron dichotomum), a member of the asphodel family (Asphodelaceae). So Google was warm. And it was to be found at reference 7, although to be fair, the picture there, snapped above, was never going to be of much present help.

One of my favourites. Another agave, I think. There used to be lots of big ones in the Ventnor Botanic Gardens, but they had been thinned out a bit last time we were there.

More spirals. On an Aechmea mariae - reginae - one of the few plants in its immediate family which is sexed.

Don't think I have ever seen a flower of this colour before. Don't know how it will come out here but the snapper next to me described the colour as teal.

More spirals on the inflorescence of a tail flower (Anthurium schlechtendalii). Pollinated by beetles. According to Wikipedia, anthuriums generally are called tailflowers, but this one is nothing much like the ones which we see quite often in the Wigmore Hall. But, I suppose, near enough. Google Images is clear that it is an anthurium, offering a selection, but not this one.

A parting shot, I suppose from the epiphyte part of the orchid family.

All of which was followed up by another visit to the Glasshouse cafeteria, where we were well served on our last visit. On this occasion, I made the mistake of moving off their pasta offerings onto their pizzas. This one, which I suspected of having been cooked from frozen in a microwave, managed to be soggy and very greasy at the same time. It filled the gap, but was not particularly appetising. Perhaps better suited to a younger person, burning up lots of calories. Extra chicken was an option as I recall, extra chicken which took the form of little cubes of the stuff scattered across the top.

That aside, we still like the cafeteria and will be trying it again. A big plus being that it has good service and is not very crowded inside.

After lunch we moved up the hill to inspect the bonsai, for which I have long had something of a soft spot - although not to the extent of wanting one or wanting to try growing one. Wrong sort of house for such a thing? The one snapped above was labelled Juniperus chinensis 'Kisoo'.

I don't remember seeing one in flower like this before.

The very last spiral of the day, a flat topped aeonuium (Aeonium tabulaeforme). quite near where we came across a jumping spider, previously noticed. Two families of spirals visible, but not the generative spiral. Maybe I well get around to counting how many spirals in each family, which looks as if ought to be possible from this snap.

The small lake on the site of what was the trial beds, beds from which one occasion we committed the horticultural crime of abstracted a few Brussels sprouts, as noticed at reference 8. The fine selection of Wellingtonia still present. While the curious shed on the road side of the beds (reference 9) has been replaced by an heavily overengineered wooden awning on the other side of the lake.

Some grasshopper noise but I failed to actually spot a grasshopper.

On the way there, taking in the decapitated horse, the pendant to the one which spoils the view at Hyde Park Corner. In the place of what used to be a perfectly decent Henry Moore arch. Don't know why they saw fit to change the arch for the head.

A last snack in the new science flavoured building, in the course of which I visited the library with its very helpful ladies. The current caterers seem keen on fizzy orange drinks in tins - which I quite like too. I remember having been keen on orange sparkles, their frozen form, when younger, and I get through a fair number of oranges now, partly as a wheeze to escape from under the restricted fluid diet.

Pellegrinan focaccia, lifted from reference 10. Looks better than the pizza.

I might say that in the borrowing part of the library the orchid section (helpfully shelved under 'O') contained lots of books for gardeners and some general, introductory books, of which I borrowed two. The reference part was mainly hefty monographs about orchids in some particular part of the world. No doubt lots of valuable illustrated books in the closed part.

Out to inspect the vegetable beds, modest enough in size, but quite large enough to demonstrate that most young people have no idea what vegetable plants look like before the vegetables you get in the supermarkets appear. But then, why would they? How many suburban parents bother with vegetables these days? I used to be fairly keen, but growing vegetables in our dreadful clay was a bit of a dead loss. Particularly since there were a fair number of mature trees drinking up all the water.

Somewhere along the way we took in the roses, the herbaceous borders and the the little sub-tropical garden where the opening snap was taken. All in very fine form.

For when need arises. As I remember, bumps is the problem with these things. Hard on pusher and pushed alike.

Home to microwaved leftovers, as previously noticed.

PS 1: in the course of hunting down the bedside shed of reference 9, I came across reference 11. It turns out I had already noticed the flashy dogwood noticed at reference 1 back in 2015, at just about the same time of year. From the time when I was restricting myself to just the one snap to the post. Possibly something to do with not having learned how to manage the wrapping of text around left aligned pictures.

PS 2: another flashy graphic from the FT. From the piece at reference 12. About the Beryl already noticed at reference 13. Not to be confused with our extensive holdings of Berylware. I sometimes worry that the graphic designer at the FT gets a bit carried away: is this another victory of graphics over content? A trap well-known to statistical people.

PS 3: I have now had a go at counting the spirals on the aeonuium snapped above, using the Snipping Tool to mark the leaves as I go. But I failed, getting lost around the dark side, as it were. I need a more carefully angled snap, or perhaps several snaps from slightly different angles.

PS 4: some days later: a literary mention of aspidistra flowers. For the source of which see reference 14 below.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/06/sunny-wisley.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/07/orchids.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/06/trolley-717.html.

Reference 4: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/2011/04/tweets.html.

Reference 5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangave.

Reference 6: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloidendron.

Reference 7: https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/sites/default/files/body_text_documents/Zoo_Botanical_Brochure_Aloe_WEB_0.pdf.

Reference 8: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2016/01/butterflies-1.html.

Reference 9: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/02/wisley-eight.html. Old shed to be found here.

Reference 10: https://www.sanpellegrino.com/. Lots of tinnies to be found here.

Reference 11: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2015/07/wisley-1.html. Dogwood.

Reference 12: Hurricane Beryl strikes at heart of US energy industry: Category one storm hits Houston, leaving millions without power and killing two people - Myles McCormick, Financial Times - 2024.

Reference 13: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/06/who-are-orchids.html.

Reference 14: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/07/raynes-park-on-sea.html.