#rockery

Rockery feature. In this garden, the rockery is a separate feature divided by paths from the rest of the garden. Lines of rock strata are discernible, giving the rockery island a feel of authenticity. Planting includes attractive, low-growing species in the foreground and shrubby masses behind the main rock grouping.

Campanula carpatica  (Carpathian harebell, tussock bellflower)

what fools we are.

The Naked Ladies

In the riverside gardens of York House in Twickenham, an unusual statue complex can be found amongst a rockery and water cascade: eight larger-than-life Oceanids (sea-nymphs) and two aquatic horses, all carved from white Carrara marble. One of ladies stands atop the two horses, whilst most of the others stretch their arms out towards her, one offering pearls. A couple of them though appear to be in rather awkward poses…

The statues were once the property of fraudster Whitaker Wright, though where he had acquired them from and who had made them is unknown. After Wright’s suicide by cyanide in 1904, the statues were bought by Sir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, who brought them to York House to be installed in the redesigned, Italian-style gardens.

The problem was that no one knew how to arrange them – the statues had been removed from their original setting with no notes taken on their intended layout. The company responsible for creating the rockery was allowed to make their own interpretation, managing to incorporate all the statues into one tableau – though their decisions on the arrangement have been questioned ever since. The original name for the artwork was also not recorded, so without anything official, the statues are often referred to as The Naked Ladies.