Staphylea colchica ‘Black Beauty’.

Euonymus cornutus (TH 659) – ex. Roundabarrow.

Myrceugenia leptospermoides.

Still plenty of flowers on Magnolia ‘Genie’.

Three months on I can still smell smoke from the burning roots.

Magnolia laevifolia x Magnolia maudiae from Raf Lenaerts with its very first flowers high up.

Magnolia ernestii still just in flower (formerly called Michelia wilsonii).

Magnolia wilsonii in bud.

Berberis temolaica flowering well outside the front arch.

Staphylea bolanderi just coming out.

Magnolia ‘Ossie’s Yellow’.

2025 – CHW
An Echium pininana which did not survive the winter east wind.

Tree Echium pininana which did.

The very last flower on the 1897 planted Magnolia stellata.

Magnolia ‘Sunburst’.

Rhododendron crassum just out.

Acer sikkimense flowering well for the first time. Planted in 2017.

The wisteria by the old Playhouse.

2024 – CHW
To Orchid House Nursery to see what young 2017 planted rhododendrons are flowering.Rhododendron smirnowii with just one flower.

Rhododendron neriiflorum ssp. phaedropum.

Rhododendron wallichii (EX 20587) – rather different from what we saw at Rowallane last week.

Rhododendron roxieanum – AGM leaf form.

Rhododendron bureavioides which I had forgotten about. On checking it is in fact Rhododendron bureavii (AC 2072).

Another fine Rhododendron niveum.

A good show above the nursery bed.

Acer sikkimense (WWJ 11613) in full flower.

Acer pseudoplatanus in flower with the seeds forming.

2023 – CHW

To Old Park to look at ‘The Fairies’ together.

Magnolia ‘Tikitere’ and Magnolia ‘Fairy Blush’.

Magnolia ‘Tikitere’ and Magnolia ‘Fairy White’.

Magnolia ‘Fairy Blush’ absolutely splendid today in Old Park. Amazing scent and far away its best performance yet.

Magnolia ‘Fairy Blush’ and Magnolia ‘Fairy White’ growing side by side.

Magnolia ‘Fairy Cream’ is just as good as the other colours and just as scented.

The 3 fairies side by side in Old Park (Cream, Blush and White). When these 3 all become large trees, as they will barring disasters, what a show this is going to be.

Just a few flowers left on Magnolia ‘Fairy White’ which has been out for at least a month while the other 2 are now at their best. We have the 4th one of these, Magnolia ‘Fairy Lime’, above Rogers Quarry, but no flowers as yet although it is growing well. (I looked at it 2 days ago to check).

2022 – CHW
A trip to Bonython garden at rhododendron time which I had not seen before. Strangely they were, in the main, five to ten days behind those here in terms of being fully out.

Orchids under a tree at the entrance to the walled garden. Orchis mascula – the early purple orchid – I think based on the black spotting on the leaves.

Magnolia ‘Sunsation’ about a week later into flower than here.

Paulownia tomentosa at its very best beside the birch circles.

Rhododendron ‘Unique’?

The view down to the bottom pond.

The view over the middle pond.

Podophyllum versipelle ‘Spotty Dotty’ embedded in garlic and looking very fine.

2021 – CHW
Some rain (and a strong westerly gale) but not enough!More work for Allen Coombes on Cyclobalanopsis.The original Quercus myrsinifolia grown as a hedge in the Auklandii Garden. One or two have died and one is reshooting well after tree damage. The rest are in good health.

The heavily scented and very tender Rhododendron ‘Mi Amor’.

Quercus fleuryi, planted in 2015, is just about still alive with some winter cold damage. It has been killed to ground level at least once.

Rhododendron ‘Beauty of Littleworth’ at its best and now layered for posterity.

Rhododendron cinnarbarinum subsp. xantocodon Purpurellum Group with a few flowers. This is borderline with us even in full shelter.

There has always been a question mark over the naming of this oak. Once a tree this is a surviving sucker shoot from the base. My father called it Quercus glabra and it is not the Quercus glauca which is what Allen Coombes wants. Thomas Methuen-Campbell thought this was Lithocarpus edulis.

A group of three 2017 planted Rhododendron ‘Penjerrick’ just performing for the first time below Slip Rail. Came from Glendoick as grafted plants. Burncoose now stocks ‘Glory of Penjerrick’ which is a strong red with a large flower.

Quercus morii (CMBS 649 2003-1091) was planted out in 2008. It has always struggled as you can see here with winter damage (plus deer which has not helped). 5-6ft at best after 13 years.

This might or might not be Quercus gilva also planted in 2008. I will let Allen put me right on this one, but the two-day hunt has failed to confirm which is Q. gilva. Along the way I have found several more species of Lithocarpus than I knew we had!