12th June | The Garden Diary

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CONTRIBUTORS:

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2024 – CHW

Rain overnight and a very wet day tomorrow. What a contrast to the last two dry summers. The garden is full of lush growth and several things which had died back are re-growing and have nearly recovered.

5 swifts above the lawn last night. This morning they appear to be eyeing up the very tallest battlements on the Rabbit Warren tower. Presumably they have old nests there or they will simply colonise and use old house martin nests. In Seaview one hears swift calling overhead all summer but our few have, so far, been entirely silent. The house martins take no notice of them.

Deutzia pulchra just into flower. Originally a gift from Roy Lancaster.

First flowers out on Cornus walteri by the Fernery.

First showing on Hydrangea ‘Hobella’.

And on Hydrangea ‘Fireworks’.

Cornus kousa ‘Wendle Weeping’ is in too much shade under a magnolia.

I regret that we have lost the label of this 1991 planted Cornus kousa variety which is a huge and impressive tree today plastered in flower.

Hydrangea ‘Lanarth’ just showing.

Stewartia rostrata has fewer flowers than usual this year but is still as good as anything in the garden today.

Hydrangea serrata ‘Tiara’ is full out already.

2023 – CHW

Dicentra scandens in the greenhouse.

Deutzia calycosa; a gift from Martin Rix and Peter Moore.

Roy Lancaster’s unnamed rose and Cestrum fasciculatum ‘Newellii’.

Viburnum wrightii.

Viburnum betulifolium ‘Hohuanshan’ from Taiwain. A Crug Farm introduction but not acquired from them. Collected at 10,000 feet!

Leaves on a Nothofagus moorei in the frames. A species which grew here until the 1990 hurricane.

New growth on Neolitsea sericea BSWJ12738 – a new purchase.

Also on Neolitsea sericea – yellow fruit – CWJ 12830.

3 different ages on these cones on Cedrus libani.

2022 – CHW

So to the Caerhays charity fete which attracted a record turnout of families and dogs (201 entries to the dog show). We hope for record profits for the church, Cornwall Air Ambulance, local schools and the scouts. The third carpark more used than I can ever remember it with long queues. A perfect day weatherwise; slightly crowded and not quite beach weather. A photo shows only about 15 families on the beach at midday.

Leptospermum scoparium ‘Red Damask’ beside the garden entrance.

Four shire horses arrive in a huge lorry.

An enormous bouncy castle and tents await the influx. (They make a donation of £150 which shows the usage).

Neil, Lamorna, Neil’s father and Lizzie – an early moment when there were still spare seats on the lawn.

Visitors begin to arrive.

The lawn fills up.

Food stalls outside the front door. One sells out by 2.15.

Mevagissey choir were impressive but so were Swamp Circus, Tregony Teachers and Suzi, the vicar’s daughter, who sang beautifully.

Archery and axe throwing.

Picnics everywhere and the craft tent with good sales.

A flyover by the Cornwall Air Ambulance on the way back from taking a patient to Derriford hospital in Plymouth.

Canoes on the lake with the swans and cygnets disgusted but keeping well away.

Our MP, Cherilyn Mackrory, draws the first raffle prize – most of the 12 prizes won locally.

4.30pm and only the bar still has something to sell. Ice cream sold out hours ago as did the food stalls.

2021 – CHW
The promised heatwave finally arrives.Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’ is finally recovering from the February cold.

Jasminum beesianum full out on the lawn.

Cornus kousa ‘Satomi’ nearing its best.

Illicium griffithii in full new growth.

Flowers just out on Styrax formosanus var. hayatiana.

Also on Styrax wuyuanensis.

2020 – CHW
Rhododendron auriculatum just out but very few flowers after two dry summers and little new growth.

Rhododendron ‘Pink Polar Bear’ (an auriculatum x (pink) decorum hybrid) also just showing colour. Early this year and also few flowers.

Seed pods forming on the tiny Magnolia ‘Mighty Mouse’ which Asia ought to watch.

Plenty of flowers still on Magnolia virginiana ‘Satellite’. It has been out for three to four weeks.

A flower on one of the younger Magnolia dealbata. The older tree has only a few flowers and most have already gone over.

Rhododendron Tally Ho Group looking splendid below the oldest M. dealbata. I had not noticed it before.

Still plenty of flower on Magnolia sieboldii sinensis x virginiana and the scent is overpowering!

A flower out already (weeks early) high up on a young Magnolia insignis and plenty of fat buds but nowhere near as many flowers to come as last year on this circa 20 year old plant.

A flower or two left on Magnolia ‘Porcelain Dove’. Showing colour five weeks ago.

But no buds this year on Magnolia sapiensis (three last year – the first ever).

Grass cutting well underway (started Tuesday) in Kennel Close.

I had not spotted this pure white deciduous azalea before tucked away under the Magnolia ‘Mr Julian’. Not one that Burncoose has ever sold and not close to ‘Whitethroat’ in habit or leaf form. I cannot see a pure white variety with no central flash of another colour listed in the new Hillier’s. Asia ought to try cuttings now.

2019 – CHW
Cornus kousa ‘Wolf Eyes’ in flower properly in Kennel Close. The one outside the front gate planted 15 years ago has been swamped almost entirely by growth from the rootstock so that only a variegated twig remains. We did not notice the problem in time.

Sorbus wilsoniana in flower. The individual flowers have a pink tinge when full out which seems to be from the anthers. The two plants in Kennel Close are both doing well. Supposedly seven pairs of leaflets on each leaf as you can nearly see. Similar to Sorbus sargentiana.

Crataegus schraderiana is just coming out too. Again pink anthers! This species is from Greece and the Ukraine with cut leaves.

Eucalyptus crenulata has been showing up from a distance as though it was plastered in flower. It is in fact the reddish new growth fronting the older silvery foliage as you can see close up. Very attractive in its own way.

A bloody roe deer buck has just ringbarked the Styrax japonicus ‘Snow Cone’ with its horns. About 12in of nearly the whole way around the trunk. The chippings of bark from the buck’s horns are on the ground. Perhaps it will reshoot from lower down in time. A good example of why one should not remove the wire netting surrounds too quickly on single stemmed trees like this.

Carpinus rankinensis with bright red secondary new growth after last week’s rain.

2018 – CHW
Catalogue proofing (Burncoose 2019) 30% done after a couple of full days at it. Some light relief is needed from the boredom of it all.Striking red colours on Rhododendron cumberlandense from Alabama and Kentucky. It can be orange as well.

Cornus kousa ‘Doubloon’ is very fine again with a covering of huge nearly double white bracts.

Acer palmatum ‘Orange Dream’ has bleached to yellow in full sun. Planted in 2008 and very attractive indeed today.

2017 – CHW
Jaimie and Michael have cut down most of the clump of camellias which were sent to us from California as cuttings in the early 1960s by Milo Rowell. None would be viewed as that brilliant in flower today but a historic collection for which we do have names even if not a very accurate plan. Do we dig them out or not? Over the top of them are two Magnolia kobus var borealis which are record trees. One has a single trunk while the other is multi stemmed. If we rip the camellias out there will be very little light to grow anything else unless we fell three overhanging smallish sycamores. Felling these could damage the record trees. We can puzzle over this for a few months before we decide.

First flowers on a young Stewartia sinensis (syn gemmata). There has not been a mature plant of this species of stewartia in the garden in my time here as far as I can recollect. Nice buds which look a bit like Stewartia rostrata.

No flowers yet on the nearby young Stewartia malacodendron which has very different leaves. We do have a mature plant of this one.

A later flowering clump of FJW’s last rhododendron hybrids. We saw others earlier. Late and quite nice but sadly not worth naming.

A first and only flower on one of Tom Hudson’s new wild collected styrax. Presumably a new species? So far we only have Tom’s collection number to work with – 1390. This was only planted this year and has some (inevitable) dieback.

This is another young Styrax japonicus ‘Sohuksan’ (‘Emerald Pagoda’). The leaf is even larger than on our more mature plant. Enormous by comparison to any other Styrax japonicus variety or the species itself.

Styrax japonicus ‘Evening Light’ is now full out. This is the second one out in the garden. We lost the first in a dryish summer in too much sun.

Yet another new variety of Styrax japonicus captured in flower today. This one is called ‘Crystal’. Very long flower stalks and large flowers but it would be hard to find it that different?

2016 – CHW
Hydgrangea scandens, a Crug collection, is especially fine outside the front gate. I have never seen it showing up so prominently before. It looks as though, as its name implies, that it would like a wall to climb up but seems happy enough without.

Three plants of Rhododendron royalii ‘Yellow Flush Form’ planted in 2008 are looking well although the rain has bashed and bruised the flowers a bit. Twenty years ago we thought Rho royalii and all its hybrids had died out from powdery mildew. Some are now making a comeback but of course not the best red and pink forms which were bred here. The parent of these three still survives, just, on Burns Bank.

Cornus kousa ‘Doubloon’, also 2008 planted, has huge flowers albeit still only on its lower branches. This is a very good new cornus. Note the size of the fly compared to the flower! Was a Spanish gold coin really as big as this?

Syringa vulgans ‘Sensation’ is nearly over. Missed it properly again this year. This is one of the better lilacs!

2015 – CHW

We start to move into the stewartia and styrax flowering time although these have all been out in the nursery for several weeks. We photographed the rare Styrax wuyvanensis only last week.

Styrax japonica ‘Pendula’ is just coming out. It really is a pendulous tree and ought to be on a bank where one could look up at it. The other big Styrax japonica are some way off coming out.

Stewartia pseudocamellia below Slip Rail is the old original plant with some die back but excellent flaking bark. The other plant on Burns bank seems to have smaller flowers and flowers rather later.

2001 – FJW
No Royal Cornwall (Show) – cool dry six weeks now gives way to rain. Rho excellans and Lyi still hold their own.

1999 – FJW
Wet few days. New growth excellent – but dry Royal Cornwall. Very telescoped rhodo season. Rho on rubbish dump full out. R weyrichii gone. Big display in Old Park been over for some time. Wilsons’ R fortunei in Big Quarry well out. Saw Maddeni species in Auk Garden – and mother stoat and three family hunting.

1993 – FJW
End of very very wet few days – 200th Royal Cornwall Show. Abandoned – Simon Trudgeon from married.

1968 – FJW
Cut 9 foot thistle on Sinogrande Walk. Garden still late – Drive azaleas good.

1966 – FJW
A wet week has knocked off the Azaleas. Megacalyx excellent. A pretty normal year with mercifully little winter or spring frost. Griersonianums exceptionally good.

1899 – JCW
Habranthus pratensis out, R edgeworthi and gibsoni, a big lot of roses, a few waterlilies, a fair lot of Arums, picked of seed this week some Emperor, P Mary, no 23, and G Bell. All the early trumpets picked, moved a lot of bulbs.