10th May | The Garden Diary

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CONTRIBUTORS:

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2024 – CHW

In this early year the garden is close to being over. The loderis are at their best still but the scented rhododendrons are more or less over. Styrax buds are swelling.

A warm fine week is speeding the end of the rhododendron season even if the deciduous azaleas have hardly started.

A good chop back in the Rockery as we had planned. More to do yet with brambles to dig out.

The wisteria drooped over the wall at the top of the Rockery.

I am puzzled as to how and why our Syringa all seem to have die back? These are robust plants and not early into leaf. The same issue in the nursery with Dutch imports. I am suspicious of the possibility of a ‘new’ lilac disease?

The peculiar and rare Osteomeles subrotunda with flower buds. The IDS website says most plants named O. subrotunda may in fact be forms of O. schwerinae. There are no pictures which enable me to confirm the identity of this plant one way or the other.

Eucryphia ‘Nyman’s Silver’ is recovering well after nearly dying in the drought last summer.

Magnolia laevifolia ‘White Caviar’ is a fine thing! Better each year.

Good new growth on a young Meliosma pungens which replaces a recent casualty of this very rare species.

A young group of Azalea ‘Persil’, planted in 2021 are just now out.

Sorbus matsumurana with its first few flowers. A new species for us.

Staphylea colchica ‘Black Beauty’ looking as its name would have you believe.

Sapium sebiferum very late into leaf but very much alive and well.

2023 – CHW
Camellia reticulata ‘Lovely Lady’ still with decent flowers.

Sadly our original Illicium anisatum has died of old age. It did have a few flowers earlier in the year on a near leafless shrub now in far too much shade.

Magnolia (Michelia) ‘Fairy Lime’. Another plant which I had forgotten with a few decent flowers.

Rhododendron ‘Saffron Queen’ far too out to cut for Chelsea.

Rhododendron ‘Cowslip’ flowering sparsely. (Rh. wardii x Rh. williamsianum).

The fir tree which fell above Red Linney took out Phellodendron amurense var. sachalinense. I wonder if it will reshoot when the mess is finally cleared up? There are two others in Penvergate.

Rhododendron ‘Winsome’ on the drive.

Cornus florida subsp. urbiniana with its white bracts joined at the tips. Odd! I think I looked this up previously and came to a different conclusion as to its identity. I called it Cornus florida ‘Pluribracteata’ and I am still not really sure which is the correct identification as I can find undivided flowers which have charachertistics of both forms. Its not in our planting plans but was planted around 2005.

Rhododendron fragrantissimum by the front door.

2022 – CHW
Tom Hudson tipped me off that the RHS Fellows and Jim Gardiner tour gift earlier this spring was flowering well for him. A near double form of Magnolia sieboldii. However when I rush to the greenhouse ours has no flowers.Malus coronaria ‘Elk River’ is now properly out. Last week just in bud.

We have planted out and lost Viburnum sieboldii before. One at Burncoose a decent size.

Malus toringo ‘Aros’ now out as well with unusual coloured flowers.

Mahonia trifolia flowering with its trifoliate leaves. To go out next spring.

Berberis hypokeriana with large leaves just in bud. Bought from Nick Macer a year ago.

Wisteria sinensis and Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’ on the wall below the Playhouse.

A closeup of Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’; my mother’s favourite rose. Most of the flowers are 20ft up.

Echium pininana and Rhododendron ‘Fragrantissimum’ – both full out.

Rhododendron ‘Patty Bee’ in the Rockery.

Vaccinum urceolatum in flower.

Surprisingly the Rhododendron campylogynum has sprung back into life (one flower in January).

Berberis amurensis var. latifolia (BSWJ 8539) was only planted in 2011 but it is already 12’ x 12’. Attractive in new growth and flowers.

Rhododendron neriiflorum nicely out.

Syringa pinnata hiding away its white flowers.

This cherry above the Four in Hand was bought from Hillier’s 35 to 40 years ago. I try to identify it and the closest I get in Wybe Kuitert’s book on Japanese cherries is Prunus serrulata ‘Albo Plena’. The other possibles with double flowers have pink in their buds and early flowers. This one does not.

Early flowers on Cornus kousa ‘Gold Star’.

2021 – CHW
More young trees just into leaf or flower.Tilia chingiana has a very unusual and interesting unfurling of its leaves.

Crataegus ellwangeriana ‘Fire Ball’ has been slightly frosted.

Crataegus chinesis with flowers almost over.

Crataegus miuveacis with its first flowering here.

Betula ashburneri with its first flowers.

Carpinus kawakamii with new growth appearing alongside its evergreen old leaves.

Pterocarya rhoifolia just into full leaf.

Lithocarpus hancei with its attractive and delicate reddish new growth.

The first tall echium into flower.

2020 – CHW

Lord Sumption sums up, very succinctly, the whole problem with the COVID disaster. Health before everything with the politicians being blinded by political risk and the initial false scientific advice of Professor Ferguson. Would that Boris had listened to wiser council and advice!Here is what Lord Sumption said. He says it so much better than I have been trying to over the last six weeks of misery. When will the penny finally drop? We will see what Boris has to say later today.

Microcachrys tetragona looks a bit like Microbiota decussata. The latter comes from Russian mountains and the former is from the Tasmanian mountains.

A nice bit of propagation on Lonicera setifera.

The flowers on Magnolia fraseri ‘Pyramidalis’ are still not out.

Philadelphus satsumi is now performing.

Rhododendron tethropeplum full out at the Hothead.

The Paulownia tomentosa ‘Lilacina’ clump lived about 30 years. They grew exponentially and died (all at once) with the same speed.

Rhododendron ‘Mrs Furnival’ nearly over.

Cercis canadensis ‘Lavender Twist’ has survived unnoticed. The one at Burncoose died. A few flowers from the trunk and old wood but nothing like as good as the label which sold it to us originally.

A clump of Lonicera japonica growing on an old stump.

I wonder what this clematis growing through a camellia is and who put it there? Old man’s beard I fear.

Aralia foliosa putting on massive growth – horrid prickles!

Magnolia obovata ‘Pink Flush’ in bud and already scented.

Magnolia x wieseneri now full out.

Aesculus hippocastanum ‘Baumannii’ now full out.

Aesculus woerlitzensis

Magnolia ‘Southern Belle’ is out just a few days before ‘Summer Solstice’. The former is Magnolia sieboldii x (Magnolia tripetala x Magnolia obovata) and the latter is M. obovata x Magnolia globosa (?). Frankly they look very similar indeed to me and both are extraordinarily scented. Bees and flies all around.

Aesculus pavia ‘Atrosanguinea’

Aesculus glabra

This is mislabelled but I think it is Aesculus ‘Dallimorei’ as you can see (if I am right) from the flowers. The red blotch appears once the flower is fertilised. Otherwise a yellow blotch (Aesculus flava x A. hippocastanum). It is labelled as Aesculus chinensis (and thus it appears on the plan) but it clearly has great hybrid vigour as a tree and easily the fastest growth of any of the 15+ Aesculus planted in Kennel Close from 2009 to 2010. I must make sure that the label gets changed. The true A. chinesis is growing very close to it but is not in flower as yet.

2019 – CHW
After our trip to the High Weald gardens one suddenly realises how far ahead we are this year in the garden and how close the garden season is to being over. The Enkianthus are superb today and most Styrax and Stewartia still to come but the rhodos are well past their best and the ‘smellies’ have gone over quickly as the hot weather returns. Cutting stuff for Chelsea next week will be problematic as the weather is set fine and fair.

Deutzia calycosa ‘Dali’ is full out already and the first Deutzia to show here on the drive.

Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Amber Glow’ is growing into a really colourful tree. I think I prefer this to ‘Goldrush’.

Staphylea bumalda has a couple of rather poor flowers left. I have missed the best while away.

Rhododendron ‘Loderi Pink Topaz’ just coming out.

Rhododendron ‘Graziella’ is now full out.

A young clump of Rhododendron ‘Loderi King George’ is still full out. Others in more sun are over.

2018 – CHW
Every year we bite our nails over which plants in the garden here and at Burncoose will be in tight enough bud to cut in a week’s time for Chelsea and which will remain looking decent for the week of the show itself.It has been a very late spring but the warm weather in the last 10 days has made everything rush out into flower rather more quickly than I had hoped.So it is time to review the ‘usual suspects’ which are normally fit to cut for the show. Many are the same as most years but there are problems!Magnolia sieboldii is in tight bud still and should be perfect.

The mature plant of Schefflera taiwaniana has plenty of branches to cut and, as yet, no new growth.

However the younger S. taiwaniana plant is already in full new growth. This will flop if we try to cut it and take it to the show so this is a nonstarter.

The Embothrium lanceolatum is still in bud but it has few flowers this year after the cold winter. Despite there being few flowers out the ground is carpeted with buds pecked in half by blue tits seeking the nectar in the flowers. I have never seen them do this to embothrium before. The branch we cut for the show will have to come from Burncoose.

Embothrium lanceolatum pecked by blue tits

Rhododendrons need to be in tight bud like Rhododendron ‘Michaels Pride’ to cut successfully. Not full out with some buds like Rhododendron ‘Fragrantissimum’. Full out flowers get bruised and damaged in transit.

Trochodendron araliodes nicely in flower but the new growth is again too tender to cut.

Sadly all the enkianthus varieties are already too far out to cut except for Enkianthus hirtinervus which will be fine like last year. The third year running they have performed a week too soon!

2017 – CHW

A good picture of Echium fastuosum sent to us by a friend whose garden adjoins the sea in Seaview on the Isle of Wight. The best display of this I have ever seen.

We discovered some long forgotten rhododendron layers which had grown erratically in full shade behind a laurel fence. The laurel has long gone and the plants have recovered and started to flower. They are the true Rhododendron griffithianum which was one of the parents of all the Gill hybrids of old. These magnificent trees with creamy or red flowers still grace the top of the garden here but many were lost in the 1990 hurricane. The original old clump of Rhododendron griffithianum with its marvellous peeling bark was destroyed by a freak whirlwind in 1976 in the Auklandii Garden.

So time to get going with some new crosses. These are what Jaimie and Michael attempted using griffithianum as the seed parent and a variety of different pollen parents as shown.

R.GRIFFITHIANUM x glendoick em velvet cross

R.GRIFFITHIANUM x purple splendour cross

R.GRIFFITHIANUM x arboreum sub delavayii cross

2016 – CHW
A tour with Mike and Annabelle Lloyd from Hillersdon House in Devon and seven dogs.Berberis insignis var insignis is performing increasingly well below Slip Rail – a clump of three. I detest the ‘municipality’ of most berberis but this is different.

Michelia platypetala was full out at the top of the garden and has the makings of a huge tree. The deep scent is familiar but I cannot quite place it.

Enkianthus campanulatus ‘Hollandia’ is the best in the collection today above Hovel Cart Road. ‘Venus’ looks very pale this year and is nearly over. Enkianthus deflexus still in tight bud.

Azalea ‘Babeuff’ outside the back yard is full out and early. Seldom propagated or seen in the nursery trade today.

Rhododendron ‘Countess of Haddington’ is splendid but only four or the 16 plants have survived from those first planted in 2004! Scented rhodos have short lives and die off quickly not least from over flowering.

Prunus jo-nioi planted alongside in 2006 has made a splendid tree at the entrance to the garden. Is this a matsumae variety? No idea but it came from Thornhayes nursery.

A plant in the sales point of Magnolia ‘Honey Tulip’ is good for a first flowering. It is the yellowish sister to ‘Black Tulip’ but I doubt will sell as well.

Magnolia ‘Daybreak’ is, I think, rather better than Magnolia ‘Peachy’. Quite like Magnolia ‘Yuchelia’ as I have said before but without such a pale inside to the tepals. Yuchelia is nearly over. Daybreak only just out but further comparison is merited.

Rhododendron ‘Halfdan Lem’ is just coming out. What a red!

2015 – CHW
A final pre-Chelsea quest for yellow(ish) magnolias which I had not seen yet or which were new to us.Magnolia ‘Hot Flash’ is a now 15 years old and not a bad yellow alongside ‘Sundance’ which has been over for a fortnight. I guess it is normally out in Chelsea week and hence why I have not seen it before.

MAGNOLIA 'Hot Flash' 03 — MAGNOLIA ‘Hot Flash’

MAGNOLIA 'Hot Flash' 02 — MAGNOLIA ‘Hot Flash’

MAGNOLIA 'Hot Flash' — MAGNOLIA ‘Hot Flash’

MAGNOLIA 'Woodsman' x 'Patriot' 02 — MAGNOLIA
‘Woodsman’ x ‘Patriot’

Magnolia ‘Woodsman’ x ‘Patriot’ – only a couple of flowers last year but now something good (unlike its neighbour of similar parentage). Almost blue in bud opening as you see.

MAGNOLIA unknown 02 — MAGNOLIA ‘Coral Pink’

Magnolia unknown – a chubby triangular habit to this first time flowerer but the label has vanished. Just 3 buds which are an odd shape and quite small opening with a tinge of pink.

Update on 15th May, this one has been identified as Magnolia ‘Coral Pink’

Michelia yunnanense ‘Summer Snowflake’ – a nice clone flowering for the first time which is now properly Magnolia laevifolia. Flowers are larger and open flatter with whitish insides than pure laevifolia. Nice but not that special really.

Magnolia Genie still has buds and flowers weeks after it first came out. Although there are now leaves as well this is another major attribute.

MAGNOLIA 'Daphne' 02 — MAGNOLIA ‘Daphne’

Magnolia ‘Daphne’ – one of three plants now full out. Absolutely the best yellow so far without question.

1932 – JCW
The hybrid Magnolias are at their best. Sargentiana has passed. Cherries are going but were excellent, Rhodo’s are late compared to 1928.1928 – JCW
Martin and I agreed that we never saw so many Auklandii in bloom here as two nights ago. Zealanicum hybrids, haematodes, chasmanthum, and chartophyllums are all very good. M parviflora shows but several. The Wilsonii are in flower, some very nice Azaleas about. Kingsbridge hybrids good. Things belonging to rhodo’s are on the wane.

1926 – JCW
Auklandii and Arboreum hybrids are all over. Decorum are and have been good. I cleared two nice pink ones today, one of Wilsons and one of Forrest’s enkianthus at their best – Zealanicum hybrids good, no Harrow hybrids yet but some Cornish Loderi.

1925 – JCW
Cherries over. Auklandii very few flowers, one of Davidsonianum good. The rubiginosum hybrid Auklandii x Campylocarpum are very nice. Zealanicum x Auklandii just starting. Helodoxa primulas V.G.

1924 – JCW
Cherries over. Auklandii at their best. Davidsonianum’s good. No Insigne. Recurvas all open.

1917 – JCW
Cherries nearly at their best. Fortunei x Arboreum good, white hybrid Auklandii’s very good. Davidsonianums started to wane, Auklandii fair but frosted, the first Rosa hugonis shows. Some yellow trumpets remain and the May 11th pheasant eye is opening. A mad year as regards the mixing of seasons.

1915 – JCW
Tubergen Iris, c reticulata, all early rhodo’s have gone over. Rockery Augustinii at their best, the outside ones are over. Orbiculare going back, Sappho hybrids open, and Devonshire Recurvas good. Standishii, C montana rubra good, also Auklandii above frost line and some white Broughtonii x’s.

1908 – JCW
The Tubergen Iris have been splendid, 50 or more blooms. Daffs have started the rot, nothing much left. 90 late Poets look well in the hall, recurvas nearly at their best, going over incomps the last time. C reticulata over, Auklandii hit by frost of April 24th, since few opening.

1907 – JCW
The last and latest Recurvas opened, we have had very heavy rain. I. pavonia is open, a few.

2 thoughts on “10th May”

Ron Rabideau says:

23rd February 2018 at 8:45 pm

Hi,
Love your blog as I’m a rhodo nut. I saw griffithianum in the wild in Arunachal Pradesh in 2005. You mention “They are the true Rhododendron griffithianum which was one of the parents of all the Gill hybrids of old. These magnificent trees with creamy or red flowers still grace the top of the garden here but many were lost in the 1990 hurricane. ” Were you referring to the Gill hybrids being creamy or red as opposed to griff. which is white? Asking because there are several red hybrids such as Jean Marie de Montague which list griff as an ancestor. More interesting than the color but possibly related is that there are more than a few polyploids in that family tree. J.M. produces unreduced gametes.
1. Charles Williams says:
  
  19th April 2018 at 3:32 pm
  
  Dear Mr Rabideau
  
  Thank you for your comment and apologies for the late reply!
  
  Yes, I was referring to the Gill hybrids being red as opposed to white.
  
  I will try and get some pictures to you or into the diary.
  
  Best wishes
  
  Charles Williams

Comments are closed.