22nd July | The Garden Diary

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CONTRIBUTORS:

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2024 – CHW

The annual visit to the Royal Isle of Wight Show and the usual excellent lunch in the members tent where we sampled IoW produce.

A display of elderly tractors in the main ring.

A Suffolk ram not looking very happy with his environment.

Finally a stall selling plants!

Phlox ‘Romance’.

Dianthus ‘Candy Floss’ was nice enough and decently scented.

An interesting new fern which I had not seen before – Cheilanthes lanosa.

Salvia ‘Deep Blue’.

Salvia ‘Amethyst Lips’ is one Burncoose stocks.

Geranium ‘Pink Penny’ had large and heavily veined flowers.

Young hounds at the IoW Hunt Stand.

2023 – CHW
More Ventnor.

Acer pentaphyllum as a multi-stemmed tree.

Azara microphylla as a mature tree.

A load of new planting since last year in the hottest part of the garden with the most sandy soil. Fencing out the rabbits (and public) is fine but if you plant only hydrangeas rabbits don’t eat them. Also questionable as to whether these are the right plants to grow in full sun where they will all flower pink anyway?

Araucaria araucana with female fruiting cones.

Populus candicans ‘Aurora’ with hot weather dieback.

The last of the Burncoose magnolias planted in this highly unsuitable area have either been moved or finally eaten to the ground by rabbits like this. It has taken the rabbits 3 years to complete the job.

A really good idea. A fenced bed showing natural regeneration of Eucalyptus and other native trees beside the children’s play area. Proper new labels here for once!

Hydrangea ‘Ayesha’ will always be pink not blue at Ventnor.

Abutilon ‘Red Bells’ is one we should propagate and sell at Burncoose.

Bananas forming on Musa basjoo.

Diospyros cathayensis.

Zelkova serrata with seed forming.

2022 – CHW
The tender Quercus fleuryi has peculiar drooping new growth but looks better than it has for years.

Excellent reshooting from the partially cut down Gevuina avellana.

New growth only just appearing on Disanthus ovatifolius (ucodendron whartonii). Slow in this heatwave.

Magnolia lotungensis is getting away well with excellent new growth.

Clethra mexicana looking well but no flowers yet.

Firmiana simplex has made good growth this year and relishing the heatwave.

Escallonia resinosa just coming out. A huge plant 3 years on from planting. Well worth propagating a few of these for the catalogue.

Juglans major getting away nicely. A new species to us.

Syzygium smithii doing well but no flowers yet. Around 6 feet tall now.

Myrsine divaricata planted only this year but would yield cuttings. A dull genus but the nursery has previously stocked different species of Myrsine.

Our third species of Melicytus – Melicytus dentatus with very bold leaflets on its new growth. Quite different in leaf to the other 2 species nearby (a gift from Nicholas Lock).

Osmanthus suavis getting on its way. Plants failed and were very poor liners from France this February.

I have missed the flowers on Viburnum fansipanense (BSWJ8302). Just the old flowerheads with seeds forming.

Euonymus tonkinensis is getting away well too.

2021 – CHW
Eucryphia lucida ‘Pink Cloud’ full out. The first of the eucryphias to perform.

Euonymus tingens (?) above Hovel Cart Road. Just one last flower left.

Acer pyrianthum which is easily overlooked on Hovel Cart Road. Related to Acer rubrum as you can see in the leaf shape. Nice bark!

Hydrangea ‘Joseph Banks’ is pale pink at first turning to pale blue in this large group.

Hydrangea sargentiana ‘Gold Rush’ now out in flower although its leaves have lost some of their yellowish hue despite being in shade.

Another clump nearby of three other Hydrangea sargentiana have failed in the spring cold after planting last autumn.

Hydrangea robusta ‘Tatiana’ now in bud.

Hydrangea heteromalla from Vietnam (HWJ 938) with its first flower here. Not that special!

Hydrangea ‘Hobella’ looking superb on the drive.

Cornus hongkongensis has few flower bracts this year.

Podocarps forming on Podocarpus henkellii in profusion.

Far too many huge seedpods on Magnolia sargentiana var. robusta for there to be much spare energy left for next year’s flowers.

Acorns forming properly on Quercus lamellosa. They have never yet matured to become viable seed but this looks promising.

2020 – CHW
More investigation of Callicarpa. We have viewed two species where my identification was suspect yesterday but here are four more and one which I could not find. In theory we are growing seven species of Callicarpa.Callicapra shirasawana at Tin Garden is a vigorous tall growing species which we have already seen with its splendid fruits. Here are its flowers and buds which are mauve-pink like many of the Callicarpas. However we do know that the fruits are a different colour to Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii ‘Profusion’.

The much better known Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii ‘Profusion’ is nearly over in two of the three Tin Garden plants. The flower clusters are larger and darker pink (as are the leaves) than any of the other species seen so far. The leaves have a pronounced purplish hue.

Callicarpa psilocalyx is clearly the most tender of the three species growing in Tin Garden and in the Isla Rose Plantation. Much dieback even after a mild winter and only one plant in the trios has generally survived. Vigorous new growth now from the survivors now but no flowers as yet. The foliage is distinct and different from any of the other species.

Another (the fifth) Crataegus with fruits – this one is Crataegus schraderiana which we saw nicely in flower this spring.

Still a flower on Camellia ‘Kitty’ in late July!

Then to the Isla Rose Plantation where there are three trios of plants growing in full sun.
Callicarpa japonica ‘Leucocarpa’ has white flowers and a dense rounded habit in the Isla Rose Plantation. This perhaps calls into question my identification of Callicarpa cathayana yesterday or perhaps both have white flowers? Hard to know when the reference books tell you so little.

However this compact clump, labelled Callicarpa dichotoma, has a small and dark tinged leaf form which is nothing like the supposed or guessed C. dichotoma which I photographed yesterday and no flowers out yet but buds to come in small clusters down the new growth stems. This matches the Hillier’s description and was previously known as Callicarpa purpurea which matches the leaf colour.

C. shirasawana and C. psilocalyx have been fairly recent purchases from Mark Bulk’s specialist plant list. Burncoose stocks C. dichotoma, C. japonica ‘Leucocarpa’ and C. bodinieri ‘Profusion’ but also Callicarpa kwangtungensis which has been planted here but appears not to have survived. I have a little more work to do at the nursery to check all these identifications and compare the flowers.

2019 – CHW
Huge seed clusters forming already on Lithocarpus pachyphyllus. The old record tree is plastered in these and some have already crashed to the ground in recent wind and rain.

One of the magnolias outside the back yard is laden with nearly ripe seed pods in profusion. The other three alongside have very few as they caught the wind when the flowers were out.

The rest of the day was spent finalising and signing off on Dad’s probate submission to HMRC. A huge effort by Edwina, our land agents and accountants which has taken six months’ work to complete.

2018 – CHW
Thinning in the 20 to 25 year old woodland in Brownberry Wood is now complete. These young beech trees have been decimated by squirrels over the years as you can clearly see here. This is why trapping greys is essential if there is to be any chance of a timber crop in 60 or 50 years’ time. Why do so few people understand this?

The big leafed rhodos are looking terrible in the nursery beds in the drought but Jaimie has now started watering to keep them alive. Rhododendron sinogrande was the great casualty of the 1975 drought.

Plenty of wild strawberries are the bonus for the grass cutting team. Over two thirds of the garden has now been cut and, with no rain in sight for at least another two weeks, there is little prospect of the need for a second cut in September (for most of it anyway).

2017 – CHW
Off to the Isle of Wight.Clethra delavayi is full out on Bond Street. A similar sized plant died of old age this spring by Lower Quarry Nursery after overflowering and overseeding copiously. 8-9ft tall and 6ft spread.

Clethra monostachya is flowering nearby in Bond Street below the dump for the first time I have seen it anyway. Very attractive flower and yet another genus to brighten up the woodland garden in July. 10ft tall and similar spread. Growing in shade here.

This is an elderly but nearly dead clethra (once one of three) which I believe was once a Kingdon-Ward introduction. Not out yet and neither are the other three species yet on checking.

2016 – CHW
A slow, hot five hour trip to the Portsmouth ferry. The UK Admiral’s Cup challenge (Land Rover sponsored) team are based in a brand new building beside the ferry terminal which was visited today by The Duke of Edinburgh. The five challenger yachts (if you can call them that) were having a practice race as we passed by with thousands of spectators in every conceivable sort of vessel. Apparently Ben Ainslie’s team won two races and were third in another two. Qualifying proper on Saturday and Sunday with the finals, if we qualify, next year in the Caribbean. Many millions of income for Portsmouth.

2015 – CHW
The hydrangeas on the drive by the Hovel are becoming a great summer spectacle just as I had planned. From the Hovel going upwards:Hydrangea ‘Ayesha’ – which exhibits pink and blue inflorescences on the same plant

Hydrangea ‘St Clare’ – with its blue and white picotee edging

Hydrangea ‘Taube’ – easily the best blue lacecap

Hydrangea ‘Fireworks blue’ – very floriferous and vigorous grower

Hydrangea ‘Fireworks pink’

Hydrangea ‘Hobelia’ – starts as a pink lacecap and fades to green and white. Tall growing.

Hydrangea ‘Fireworks’ – white but it only shows the flashes of red and orange later

Hydrangea ‘Libelle’ – the best white lacecap in shade

Lots more to come out still so more work needed to check the planting plans.

1987 – FJW
Harvest started – 18 degrees moisture – weather improving.

1934 – JCW
Much as in 1906 and 1907 a long very hot dry spell.

1925 – JCW
Daff seed has been gathered for some time, the Romneya, Buddleia, Plagianthus and D Ivey Escallonia are the best things for the show at Tregony.

1907 – JCW
L giganteum over. R brunonis at its best. All seed picked.

1906 – JCW
Buddleia variabilis is in flower. Have put out our two year old daffs. Sweet peas only fair. One or two late Lapagerias are open.