Carpinus betulus ‘Purpurea’ is only briefly purple as far as its new leaves are concerned. Lower branches are showing some good yellowing leaves.

Stewartia monadelpha putting on an excellent reddish show and, I think, earlier than usual.

Quercus frainetto does not have autumn colour with us.

Neither does Tilia caroliniana subsp. heterophylla. Its huge leaves have been ripped to shreds.

Unusual to see a secondary flower on Magnolia wieseneri. Right at the top of the small tree.

Magnolia ‘Yakeo’ still going strong with yet more flowers despite the gales and heavy rain. What a trooper this variety is!

Even more peculiar is a large terminal flower on Syringa reticulata. Four months later than its first and normal flowering.

Young rhododendrons from the greenhouse now out in Higher Quarry Nursery beds.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tardiva’ still with a reasonable show in full shade.

2023 – CHW
More Malus with fruits in the Kitchen Garden.Malus x robusta ‘Red Sentinel’.

Malus ‘Royal Raindrops’.

Malus ‘Butterball’.

Malus transitoria ‘Gulliver’.

Malus ‘Gorgeous’.

Malus toringo ‘Scarlett’.

Malus toringo ‘Freja’ has most attractive leaves.

Malus ‘Marble’.

Malus hupehensis ‘Arie Mauritz’.

Malus hupehensis.

Malus ‘Sun Rival’.

And we wonder why branches break off on young magnolias! Six pheasants drying off on this small tree.

2022 – CHW
Schima superba just out into flower by Donkey Shoe. Earlier than usual.

A pheasant’s futile spring nest uncovered while strimming a bramble patch recently.

The archaeologists are hard at it in the graveyard extension. I had it wrong the other day as this is the stone lined culvert or drain which runs down the front of the church and into the field. Of no consequence as it clearly has not worked for decades.

This is what I thought was the drain but it is a platform of rubble containing bits of pottery from various dates. Since the original church was extended twice, latterly in the 1880’s, it seems pretty obvious that spoil had to be dug out for the foundations and dumped below the churchyard.

This is the far end of the ‘platform’ which is no longer thought to be the walls of a dwelling but more the levelling of a spoil dump. The pottery bits are far to varied and numerous to suggest a dwelling. Pottery presumably from flowers on graves or in the church itself.

So the verbal conclusion on site was that there is nothing significant archeologically in the ground to stop the planners granting permission for the graveyard extension. Let’s hope that is what the archeological report actually says when it arrives.

The huge clump of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ on the drive has flowers which have turned a gentle pink.

2021 – CHW

Here is the answer to the odd fungus collected during the fungus survey here on 28th September:

I left a specimen on your entrance table by the pine cones, a branch covered in ‘Orange Pore fungus’ or Favolaschia calocera, this is widespread throughout the estate. It is native to Madagascar and was first found in the UK at Enys, it has since spread around the County. It is a saprotroph and not fussy as to diet being found on a wide range of dead trees and shrubs. However at Caerhays it is the first time we have found it on a gymnosperm. I would like to know the tree species, I think it is Cunninghamia lanceolata. There is a mass of the tiny orange ‘ping pong bats’ on a felled trunk just in the woodland above the parking area and there is one standing trunk there.It Has broad lanceolate needles around the stem and rich reddish brown bark.
A large number of pale brown mushrooms growing up in the Castle Wood on soil and pine debris may prove to be an interesting species of Agrocybe. I have sent my notes and photos for an opinion from Kew mycology department.

The full findings of the survey are attached in full. Complaints that the dry September had reduced the number of species found.

2020 – CHW
More close up pictures of the leaf structure and habit of the Ilex mutchagara at Burncoose. ‘New Trees’ suggest this may be another name for Ilex mitis from sub-Saharan Africa where it is a large tree growing on Table Mountain and Mount Kilimanjaro above 2,500 meters. I remain doubtful.

My brother has been visiting the battlefields and shoreline at Gallipoli where our grandfather won the MC as a young midshipman. On the seashore he found shrapnel including British and Turkish rounds next door to each other and bones still scattered about. A few pictures are attached of the scene A M Williams would have seen from HMS Euralyus during the landing and subsequent evacuation when he led one of the many small troop carrying boats shuttling men, under fire, to and from the shore.

To add another superb example of trees and shrubs flowering out of season after a hot summer (May to June especially) here is an apple tree flowering in Jaimie’s garden. A very fine flower for October!

Going back to Ilex mutchagara Bean says it is a close ally of Ilex crenata from the Ryukyu archipelago. In reality Ilex crenata var. mutchagara.

Bean also says that two Ilex kingiana at Caerhays were awarded an Award of Merit when shown by FJW on 25th February 1964. This was previously called Ilex insignis. In the clump of three elderly hollies by the Podocarpus salignus clump we probably have one Ilex kingiana and two Ilex dipyrena. The two elderly ilex above the Crinodendron Hedge are also probably Ilex dipyrena. The confusion has come in part from the identification of the ilex above the greenhouse previously as Ilex dipyrena when it is in fact Ilex bioritsensis. Bean (probably) correctly identifies the two Ilex dipyrena with their Forrest numbers as F 25362 and F 25424. These collections postdate the Forrest ilex lists of my father’s which do not cover his later expeditions. Forrest called Ilex bioritsensis Ilex pernyi var. veitchii which added to the muddle.Bean mentions seven Ilex cytura growing as a clump at Trewithen. I need to get to see these. Originally this holly was called Ilex forrestii and also incorrectly identified as Ilex ficoidea. Bean says that a holly at Caerhays may be Ilex cytura and was identified as such by David Hurst.

Here are pictures of the old Ilex dipyrena which did not have any berries when cut down by Jaimie recently. I guess we now have enough for Susyn Andrews to work on when she visits next spring.

These are David Hunt’s notes and letter from Susyn Andrews dated 29.4.1984. If these serve to confuse the holly identification problem even more join the club! Ilex centrochinensis is now thought to be the same as Ilex corallina (Rookery – 30 year old plant). No idea what they thought were Ilex cyrtura? However the elderly Ilex kingiana and Ilex dipyrena are, I think, as I/we have now sorted out. Ilex georgii died out as did my Windsor replacement plant.

2019 – CHW
Magnolia obovata ‘Pink Flush’ now has ripe seed showing on a brown seed pod at the very top of the young tree. Asia will need the long handled pruners to get it quickly before the squirrels do. A lower down seed pod is still not yet ripe or shedding.

A remarkable find which I have not seen here before. Our largest Daphniphyllum macropodum has rot in the base and is slowly dying. However, in its death throws, it has decided to set seeds. These are round and green on attractive purple stalks in panicles. The flowers have purple stems in April and these suddenly stand out again in the autumn. They are not quite ripe but Asia may wish to gather some anyway. There are plenty here.

Cornus capitata with much larger fruits than the kousa varieties yesterday. They are not yet quite ripe either.

2018 – CHW
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.

Wonderful autumn colour again this year on Lindera umbellata.
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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.

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.