Any species/hybrid except acuminata single bloom
1st – M. ‘Tikitere’

Any species/hybrid of acuminata single bloom
1st – M. ‘Apricot Brandy’

Any species/hybrid of acuminata 1 spray
1st – M. ‘Lemon Star’

RHS Main Rhododendron competition

6 different species Rhododendron trusses
1st – R. platypodum, R. decorum ssp. decorum, R. falconeri sp., R. macabeanum, R. falconeri ssp. eximeum, R. sinogrande sp. Awarded the Lionel de Rothschild Challenge Cup

Any hybrid 1 spray
1st – R. ‘Countess of Haddington’

Any falconeri or grandia hybrid 1 truss
1st – R. ‘Lord Rudolph’

Any species of falconeri or grandia 1 truss
1st – R. falconeri ssp. eximeum

Any species of trifloral 1 spray
1st – R. yunnanense

Any species of fortunea 1 truss
1st – R. decorum ssp. decorum

Any elepidote hybrid bred in North America
1st – R. ‘Taurus’

Plus an array of other awards in the Magnolia and Rhododendron competitions.

2021 – CHW
Another surprise delivery of plants from Nick Lock. This is Grevillea rosmarinifolia ‘Jean O’Neil’ which is a creamy-yellow form rather than the normal red. Very lovely. I have seen it somewhere before but did not know the name.

Prunus ‘Chocolate Ice’ with its contrasting bronzy new growth by the cash point.

The first flower out incredibly early on Magnolia sieboldii sinensis. I saw the buds a week ago but never expected this.

A former gift from Chip Luma of Rhododendron ‘Floral Sun’ (Abby Jury 2011).

Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ against a blue sky.

Rhododendron platypodum is now out. We have been watering the newly planted rhodos twice a week and this has helped produce decent flowers on this new species to us.

The clump of Rhododendron ‘Broughtonii’ below Slip Rail. Tissue culture grown to preserve this one which is in its dotage by the entrance point and shop.

Jaimie removing a brown paper bag from one of his earlier magnolia crosses halfway up a tree in Kennel Close. This one has ‘taken’ (so far).

Rehderodendron indochinense with its first flowers this year. More to come. The other new species of Rehderodendron are still in tight bud.

Flowers on what I hope Susyn Andrews will confirm as an ancient Ilex forrestii.

A good day showing Tom Christian around the garden. Tom is deputy editor of the International Dendrology Society website and we clearly have a lot in common as well as being able to help the IDS website with (attributed) pictures from this garden diary. Tom is currently writing the text for the new eucryphia section of the website and will be back in August.

2020 – CHW
I have never felt so on top of the management of the estate; but then there is little to manage! Nevertheless very tough decisions on staff for the future. Meanwhile the 2021 Burncoose Nurseries catalogue proofing continues apace. With no interruptions I hope to finish this incredibly concentrated but boring job by the end of this week. Proofing involves checking every invoice for the last year to see that we do actually have (in theory) everything which we claim to, and a review of our prices against the competition. So one has to dream up a ‘policy’ for pricing the total unknown of next year as a business in a country in full recession. The policy is ‘no price increases’ (unless the size of the plant offered has changed) from year to year. Will the minimum wage rates continue to increase by 6.2% per annum while inflation is less than 2%? I doubt it. Will inflation stay at 2% for the 18 months in which the catalogue will be out there? I doubt it. Will employee national insurance and pension costs rise? Certainly! So the theme is to broadcast a price ‘freeze’ and take a hit on our margins while the whole horticultural industry, and garden centres in particular, are in crisis. It is a ‘no brainer’ really but the work still has to be done properly and the 200+ ‘new’ plants added to the catalogue/website and care articles (already done!) takes time. There is plenty of that!Rhododendron rubiginosum ‘Ted Millais’ flowering well for the first time as a young plant. Quite a different shape to the older Rh. rubiginosums here.

Dipelta floribunda – one plant just out while another has already produced its odd seed capsules with a few tail end flowers.

The view from Georges Hut today.

And the view down the path from Donkey Shoe with Azara dentata at the back.

And from by Higher Quarry Nursery – mainly Rhododendron davidsonianum but some Rhododendron augustinii in a large hedge.

Karol with his video filming kit as we produce a vlog for the website showing people the peak of the rhododendron season which they will not now see until next year.

Rhododendron niveum fades as it opens and as the flowers go over as we will see elsewhere today.

Halesia carolina absolutely stunning today. As good as I have seen it. The best of the three species I think.

Rhododendron ‘Fragrantissimum’ fronts Rhododendron ‘Damaris’.

Magnolia x brooklynensis ‘Evamaria’ has indeed changed colour in a week.

Rhododendron loderi ‘Venus’ just out in a young clump of three.

Rhododendron loderi ‘King George’ which is usually out with the Cornus kousa ‘Satomi’ beside it.

Malus ‘Jelly King’ now full out.

Acer morrisonense with flower. It is making a decent tree here and the leaves are interesting.

Magnolia ‘Crescendo’ certainly living up to its name and leaving the best colours to last. A long lasting hybrid in flower.

Paulownia kawakamii just coming out in Kennel Close.

We have never grown Cercis here before but now have a few decent small trees. Cercis canadensis ‘Flame’ now full out. One or two others we planted have failed including the lovely trailing one (‘Appalacian Trails’). It died at Burncoose too after a few years of struggling.

Magnolia ‘Carlos’ not too bad full out.

This is what the public ought to be enjoying.

A large clump of Rhododendron loderi ‘King George’ with the potential for some layering this week. Our original and huge old clump is still in bud.

Magnolia laevifolia ‘Summer Snowflake’ SUPERB! I have never seen it anything like as good as this.

Another (just out) Rhododendron niveum which is a rather stronger colour.

Mallotus japonicus with its first leaves out. The deer had nibbled but this one is ok.

Rhododendron elliotii with two flowers out. Another species which is a month early.

Viburnum x pragense or is it Viburnum rhytidophyllum?

2019 – CHW

RHS and Rhododendron, Camellia & Magnolia Group main rhododendron show at Rosemoor today. Strong NW winds but generally fine. Spent three hours with Karol photographing together in Rosemoor garden.

Four cups and the (expected) RCMG outstanding garden award for magnolias at Caerhays.

CHW receives the RHS Jim Gardiner Magnolia Cup for our contribution to magnolias from Jim Gardiner (letter from the president attached).

Michael received the RHS Lionel de Rothschild challenge cup for the display of any six trusses of rhododendron species.

Jaimie receives the RHS Loder challenge cup for best hybrid rhododendron truss.

CHW receives the RCMG Quicke cup for best magnolias in the show.

CHW receives the RCMG outstanding magnolia garden plaque from David Millais.

This makes a total of 10 cups from three shows this year. A new Caerhays record?
Our four magnolia spray entries were:Magnolia ‘Limelight’ (third)

Magnolia ‘Ambrosia’ (first and cup)

Magnolia ‘Yuchelia’ (second)

Magnolia ‘Lois’ (fourth)

All the magnolias together on the bench.

The six rhododendron species class selected and arranged by Michael with trophy.The best in show hybrid rhodo truss plus trophy – Jaimie’s (Mrs Lionel de Rothschild).

The RHS will not let you take the cups home so you are left with only a photograph of the moment. At least they pay for the engraving I suppose and the insurance! Jim Gardiner said we could take his cup home if we first filled and drank it. Sadly Rosemoor do not sell alcohol so we had to wait until the evening to celebrate.

Rosemoor is now, I think and Jim almost agrees, a better garden than Wisley with more plants in more landscape contexts. It is growing and improving all the time. I wonder how many gardeners and labellers it all takes? Karol and I took over 1,000 pictures during the day and our ‘this goes nicely with this’ picture file has grown apace.

For those who want to see other nice things from the show bench please click here:

2018 – CHW
Showery but mainly pleasant and, fortunately, cool for the flowering rhododendrons.

A young Magnolia ‘Honey Tulip’ with three flowers. A bit of pink on the bud but opening a nice pale yellow. We need more photos for the Burncoose website.

A two year from planting Magnolia ‘Honey Liz’ is not yet as good as I saw at Anthony House where there was an orange flash on the outside of the tepals. First flowers are seldom a guide to later reality in magnolias. Just one here for now.

First flower on a new species to us – Rhododendron phaedropum which is a form of Rhododendron neriiflorum when I look it up. When I do I see phaedropum is an orange rather than a red in flower so anyone’s guess! Leaves do not look a neriiflorum shape.

Malus ‘Royalty’ flowering in the Isla Rose Plantation. Planted last December.

Malus ‘Profusion’ likewise.

This is labelled Rhododendron bauhiniflorum below Hovel Cart Road but it is not! Looks more like Rhododendron ‘Alison Johnstone’. There are spaces where things have died here.

Prunus ‘Gyoiku’ is a wonderful green and white and plastered in flower.

Prunus mahaleb is in a key spot below the tower but I have made a major mistake with its location. The St Lucie cherry is rather dull in comparison to the other cherries nearby.

2017 – CHW
Two good new offerings at the sales point up from Burncoose yesterday.Kalmia polifolia ‘Newfoundland’ has a dwarfish spreading shape and many delicate rose-pink flowers. A welcome new addition to the kalmia offering and early flowering for a kalmia.

Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ is rather taller growing than I had assumed or expected. The colour fades a bit but is exceptional as the flower opens. Rather better than some of the better known ones I think.

2016 – CHW
To Hook Norton brewery for the AGM and board meeting at our revamped £1m pub, ‘The Fox’, in Chipping Norton. Lizzie’s mum, Alice, aged nearly 92 is coming with Elke, her nurse, who also looked after my mother.Last night I saw three pigeons incapable of flight and frumped up under hedges. One was in a similar state near the front door. Perhaps they had eaten dressed seed corn or perhaps the effects of a combative and competitive mating season or perhaps just the effects of overeating emerging beech leaves as pigeons have been doing in the garden all this week. Possibly just a coincidence but I wonder what the truth is?The first pheasant chicks will hatch tomorrow; a week later than last year. Philip says the eggs are generally larger this year than last which may bode well for fertility rates in what has been, so far, quite a cold year for laying. Certainly the cold north wind in the rearing field was unpleasant yesterday and hardly conclusive to high fertility rates. Philip is hoping for a good summer rearing season and the keepers have shot four roe bucks this week. One of them was in Kennel Close where his horn marks on young trees bear witness to what damage these newish garden pests have been doing. The does are not yet in season but we hope to cull more over the summer.2015 – CHW
Yet more ‘yellowish’ magnolias appear in a double garden tour day which exhausts the dogs.