The first fruits on Zanthoxylum armatum. The most obvious armaments appear as the prickles on the stems and branches but the fruits seem well protected too.
Zanthoxylum armatumZanthoxylum armatum
Wonderful autumn colour again this year on Lindera umbellata.
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Lindera umbellataLindera umbellata
Rhododendron ‘Yellow Hammer’ with its secondary autumn flowers which are nearly as copious as the spring offering.
2017 – CHW
Amazingly Michelia ‘Mixed up Miss’ still has flowers showing. Quite a few in fact. Is this how it gets its name rather than from the flower colour? No other michelia is doing this in the garden.
Michelia ‘Mixed up Miss’Michelia ‘Mixed up Miss’
From a distance I thought this was Rhododendron ‘Polar Bear’ in flower but it is actually an elderly Rhododendron decorum with secondary autumn flowers. Certainly the leaf shape and trunk say decorum. Never seen this before.
The second grass cut is only a day or two from completion now.
second grass cutsecond grass cut
2016 – CHW
The seed picture quest continues. What is by now clear is that not only is this a very poor magnolia seeding year but it is also a poor seeding year for many types of plants including camellias and a lot of rhododendrons. Styrax seem to be the exception and are all laden with, as yet unripe, spherical seed pods. Staphylea colchica has ‘bladder nuts’ which have ‘burst’ (ie the pods have deflated) and are ready to gather.
Staphylea colchica
Staphylea trifoliata has pods which have turned red like its leaves. These too are ready to gather.
Staphylea trifoliata
Styrax serrulatus has seeds which are green and only half swollen.
Styrax serrulatusStyrax serrulatus
Styrax hemsleyanus which has individual flowers rather than flower clusters is similarly ‘unready’.
Styrax hemsleyanus
Corylopsis spicata has a few unripe seed spikes.
Corylopsis spicata
Conversely formerly pink Magnolia sieboldii seed pods are losing their colour and shedding orange seed fast.
Magnolia sieboldii
Acer palmatum ‘Osakasuki’ seed is turning from reddish to brown and is very nearly ripe.
Acer palmatum ‘Osakasuki’
Rhododendron polyandron has seed pods which are browning and very nearly collectable.
Rhododendron polyandron
Lithocarpus pachyphyllus (an evergreen oak) with a large viable ripe oak seed.
Lithocarpus pachyphyllus
Lithocarpus pachyphyllus (an evergreen oak) with a cluster of small and totally unviable and useless acorns even though they are ripe.
Lithocarpus pachyphyllus
Quercus myrsinifolia has very tiny acorn clusters. They certainly are not ripe and I do not think they will now ever swell or develop properly.
Quercus myrsinifolia
Rhododendron megacalyx has swelling seed heads but they are still far from ripe. One we must collect and propagate this year.
Rhododendron megacalyx
Nearly ripe Camellia sasanqua seed. Three seeds only on this plant and none on the seven others in this group unless Asia has picked already?
Camellia sasanqua
Magnolia cylindrica seedpods are ripening well but not yet quite shedding their seeds. You could probably risk picking them (as I have) and ripening them on in the greenhouse.
Magnolia cylindrica
Enkianthus cernuus rubens is plastered in small seed which are still far from ripe. I wonder if they ever will be. Perhaps the old plant has tried but has not the energy to complete the process.
Enkianthus cernuus rubens
2015 – CHWJust missed the autumn colour on Cercidiphyllum japonicum ‘Strawberry’ which is really a spring show rather than an autumn one but not bad at all.
Nearby is a good young plant of Podocarpus acutifolius which has a strange flattening of some of its stems rather like Salix udensis ‘Selika’ or Cryptomeria ‘Sekkansugi’. I have never seen this before in a podocarpus and wonder if it is an abnormality or not? Quite attractive but I cannot remember the specific name for this feature other than ‘flattened stems’.
Podocarpus acutifolius
2000 – FJW
First Sasanqua flowers on plant nearest side door seen.
1949 – CW
A very long dry summer. Big leaf rhododendron growth small. The 2 Sinogrande by big group of Barbatum about dead. White Sasanqua by stables nearly over, others well out. One Decorum out and a nice bit of Repens, also a lot of Yellow Hammer. All Auriculatum hybrids over. Still some Magnolia delavayi and both forms of Grandiflora. Cyclamen good.
1943 – CW
Daffodils up and quite a lot of pink Sasanqua Camellia now out.
1936 – JCW
Returned from Scotland. They have cleared the main opening and wait for the screen before planting.
1920 – JCW
There are about 25 species of rhodo showing flower.
1917 – JCW
The hydrangeas remain good. Lapagerias and cyclamen wane, no roses to speak of. Clematis paniculata nears its best.
