I am not sure where to post this but I noticed the mentioning of blanket weed in Wisley.
It is of course possible to take them out by "fishing" with a suitable implement. Any stick put into the weed and turned will pick it up.
However, there is another way.
The snail 'Lymnaea stagnalis', which I assume is wild in the UK, will eat it.
I have one larger "natural" pond with various animals including these snails. I never get any blanket weed there.
I also have a formal concrete pond that must be emptied in the winter. I then move all pots to the other pond.
This means that there I usually only get insect visitors but rarely snails or amphibians.
If I get blanket weed in the formal pond in the early summer I just drop a few snails in it and the weed disappears.The snails proliferate quickly.
If they become too many they will start on the water lilies as well. They do not do serious damage to them but if they eat the waterlilies I just move a few snails back and all is well.
Hope this is helpful to somebody
Göte.
PS
I still get a few water lily flowers but they become rarer and some kinds have disappeared from the surface.
