2025 – CHW
Magnolia kobus ‘Isis’ opposite the Old Dog Kennels. I have been hunting this one for days for the new book.
Magnolia ‘Sargent’s Surprise’. The first time I have seen it properly in flower except in a vase. Jaimie and Michael’s breeding. Quite close to M. sargentiana – pure which is one of its parents.
Magnolia x brooklynensis ‘Woodsman’ x M. ‘Pink Royalty’ or possibly Magnolia x brooklynensis ‘Lady Woodsman’ (M. brooklynensis ‘Woodsman’ x M. ‘Pink Surprise’) flowering for the first time.
Magnolia ‘Livingstone’.
A good form of Rhododendron racemosum in Old Park.
Comptonia peregrina in flower in the greenhouse.
Senna stipulacea var. stipulacea from Bonython.
Azaleas from Polly Cooke which are verified Wilson 50 varieties.
Azaelea ‘Azuma-Kagami’.
Azalea ‘Hoo’ – Wilson No. 9 from Exbury. Not quite like ours?
Azalea ‘Ukamuse’ – Wilson No. 47.
Azalea ‘Aioi’ – Wilson No. 43.
Azalea ‘Takasago’ – Wilson No. 11.
Azalea ‘Hana Asobi – Wilson No. 50. Rather different from what we have known here under this name.
Azalea ‘Shintokie-No Hagasane’ – Wilson No. 20. Entirely new to me.
Ilex cyrtura from Trewithen with berry and flower. Our 3 original plants in the Rookery are, at best, semi-deciduous.
Nageia nagi (Podocarpus nagi) growing on nicely from seed in the greenhouse.
Populus maximowiczii seedlings from seed collected at Rowallane Garden in Northern Ireland last April or perhaps from Batsfod Arboretum in Oxfordshire. Delighted to have propagated this exceptional but rare species.
2024 – CHW
Typically it’s raining again with high winds for the weekend. Not good news for the Spring Show at Wadebridge or for our wedding event in a tent in Beach Meadow; both over the weekend. Visitor numbers for the 4 days of Easter were only 600. As our marketing team have said – we are doing everything right but this long risk of terrible weather is costing a fortune and turning everything we try to do into loss leaders. All very depressing after the garden team have spent 4 days preparing for the show. At the showground the teepees beside the main shed have already had to be moved due to high winds earlier in the week.
A day spent cutting and staging at the show with a few photographs of good and bad things on the way.
Prunus ‘Pink Perfection’ cut on Bond Street. A rather forgotten tree but just right for cutting today.
Halesia carolina had come out a lot in 3 days and will now be presentable.
Pseudocydonia sinensis in flower on Sinogrande Walk which I have seldom seen before but most of the pink flowers have been battered by the rain.
Another ghastly looking big leaf rhododendron on the way out.
The Game Larder starts to fill up with cut stuff for the show.
Rhododendron ‘Vuna’.
Rhododendron arboreum ‘Tony Schilling’ is rain battered but Rhododendron arboreum ‘Sir Charles Lemon’ is just coming out beside it.
Buds showing up already on Magnolia tamaulipana. They would normally not be out until July or August.
Good bark on Gymnocladus dioica.
A magnolia which blew over in a gale above Hovel Cart Road. A rare occurrence.
Rhododendron mengtszense (AC 5663) appears in the Rhodo Pocket guide only under very rarely in cultivation or of doubtful provenance (and not in the main index). An Alan Clark collection. Rather good today and there are 2 separate plants in flower.
A young Rhododendron fulvum (KR 10084) flowering well. One of Keith Rushforth’s.
Rhododendron ‘Lady Montagu Group’ bent over with the weight of its flowers and the rain.
The Game Larder is filling up – over 30 different vases of things for the display .
Betula kweichowensis subsp. fansipanensis (formerly Betula insignis var. fansipanensis) is developing good greyish-brown bark and the emerging leaves are dark in colour.
Rhododendron ‘Anne Teese’ just out by George’s Hut.
Cut show material from high up on Plagianthus betulinus.
2023 – CHW
A trip to the greenhouse on this much drier week to see what is new. Tremendous amounts of newly potted cuttings and seedlings. A wonderful sight of productivity by Asia with many first time successes.
First flowering of Magnolia ‘Romina’s Pink’ in the frames. (M. x soulangeana ‘Rustica Rubra’ x M. ‘Iolanthe’). Not yet a representative flower or a decent one when I check the reference books.
This is labelled Cercis glabra but is obviously an Amelanchier. Perhaps Asia could check where we got if from? Burncoose sells C. glabra but this isn’t it!
Clematis armandii ‘Apple Blossom’ on the wall making a fine show today.
Philotheca myoporoides – Gin and Tonic in a Pot – a gift from Hayloft. I couldn’t smell g&t today.
Rhododendron hypoleucum – a seedling from OP12168 with dainty flowers. Formerly Ledum hypoleucum from Russia and Japan so very much a rockery plant.
Seedlings of Nageia nagi (formally Podocarpus nagi) growing well. A gift from Raf Laenarts. We did once buy this in from China but it proved too tender to grow outside.
Maytenus magellanica is quite different in appearance from the Maytenus boaria which we grow well. A smaller and slower growing tree but also a Chilean species.
The attractive foliage of Syringa protolaciniata does not look lilac – like at all. A shrub from Afagnistan with lilac flowers in May which I look forward to seeing.
Molly Jackson receives the cup at the CGS Show for the best nursery plant display by Burncoose.
Here are the two Caerhays CGS cups together with the recent Rosemoor ones.
2022 – CHW
Camellia japonica ‘Maiden’s Blush’ outside the front gate under the M. dawsoniana.
A young big leaf rhodo seedling with three flowers only five years after planting above Rogers Quarry.
Rhododendron ‘Wine & Roses’ just out.
First flower on Magnolia ‘Peachy’.
Magnolia ‘Kusious’ which must be a misspelling – otherwise untraceable.
Flower on Acer japonicum.
Rhodoleia aff. parvipetala is much pinker in colour now.
Magnolia ernestii now properly into flower.
On Burns Bank Rhododendron impeditum ‘JC Williams’ and Rhododendron ciliatum.
Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’ (‘Jane Platt’) at various stages of bud and flower. The pink quickly fades but is left in stripes on the tepals.
Rhododendron ‘Assaye’ – Caerhays bred.
Early leaves on Aesculus parviflora.
And on Quercus stenophylloides – an evergreen but few old leaves remain.
Melcytus obovatus absolutely plastered in tiny flower on the twigs and from the trunk as well.
2021 – CHW
A nasty flip back to cold east winds today but still a few new magnolias flowering.The grandchildren picking pheasant eggs in the laying pens yesterday. Easter eggs for all! The first batch will go into the incubator next Friday. We all picked 300 eggs at 4pm and 600 were picked at midday.
A nasty flip back to cold east winds today but still a few new magnolias flowering.The grandchildren picking pheasant eggs in the laying pens yesterday. Easter eggs for all! The first batch will go into the incubator next Friday. We all picked 300 eggs at 4pm and 600 were picked at midday.
Prunus ‘Shirotae’ now suddenly full out on the drive. I fear the wind will ruin what is always an all too brief but wonderful display this year.
Rhododendron bauhiniiflorum just out.
Prunus campanulata ‘Felix Jury’ is a gorgeous red – three plants in Tin Garden.
The clump of Leujocum aestivum ‘Gravetye Giant’ now full out.
Three small plants of Rhododendron cumberlandense putting on a show.
Magnolia ‘Sulphur Cockatoo’ (Gresham Hybrid) not yet doing much.
Magnolia ‘Chamaeleon’ not that impressive either.
Magnolia ‘Rose Marie’ x Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’ (Ledvina cross) is good and in a prime spot by Georges Hut.
The tiny Magnolia ‘Mighty Mouse’.
