Then to Tin Garden area.

Two young plants of Rhododendron wilsoniae seem to have been bleached in the sun in Tin Garden. The lower leaves are untouched. Rather odd in such a wet year. I hope they will recover?

A young Cercis chingii has made good growth.

So has Carya cordiformis.

Ilex cerasifolia from Brazil with berries forming.

Tom Hudson’s Lithocarpus quercifolius (TH 4595) living up to its name.

Nothaphoebe cavaleriei looks quite different to the Phoebe cavaleriei photographed only a couple of days ago.

Decaisnea insignis (also from Tom) is now growing away well.

Lyonia ligustrina had a few flowers but I missed them.

2023 – CHW
A greenhouse trip to see new things and start to plan the autumn planting.

Corylus chinensis with enormous hazel leaves.

Calycanthus ‘Venus’.

Mahonia eurybracteata with its first flowers.

We saw this Lysionotus pauciflorus (BSWJ 335) in flower for the first time last year.

Magnolia (M. laevifolia x M. championii) x (M. laevifolia x M. maudiae). This gift from Raf in February is suddenly covered in flowers. Its leaves do look a bit like M. laevifolia although larger as are the flowers themselves. What a bizarre cross?

Buddleja limitanea in flower.

Crinum x powellii ‘Album’ flowering its heart out beside the greenhouse.

2022 – CHW

28°C as we hit the second heatwave and real deaths now.

Out best blue mophead hydrangeas shrivel before our eyes.

Clethra tomentosa ‘Cottondale’ now full out and enjoying the heat.

Just 2 seed heads left standing on Magnolia campbellii ‘Darjeeling’.

Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’ looking at its best.

Dead Rhododendrons.

This big leaf has collapsed in the last 2 days.

First casualty in a bed of young Rhododendron burmanicum.

New growth collapsing on Rhododendron ‘Fragrantissimum’ in full shade.

This was not dead 2 days ago.

A Magnolia sieboldii frying with its leaves being progressively burnt off by the sun – the other half of the plant already dead.

2021 – CHW
Bell heather (Erica cinerea) on Wolsingham Moor which was already nearly over.

The Cottage in the evening sun.

2020 – CHW
Daphne’s garden at Newbiggin in all its glory which she photographed a week or two ago.

2019 – CHW
Daphne Scott-Harden’s wonderful garden at Newbiggin near Blanchland had suffered in the rain as well. The roses were shattered and the herbaceous borders nearly over but the new growth on everything was impressive even without the colour. A year ago the garden was full out.A couple of fine potfulls of Agapanthus ‘Streamline’ (I think?) nevertheless.

Tropaeolum speciosum growing in a Banksian rose.

And through a clipped yew with nearly ripe fruits.

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ and Gentiana asclepiadea were a gorgeous colour contrast. We need to stock this tall growing 3-4ft herbaceous gentian.

A fine display of mistletoe on a young apple tree with berries forming early.

Aconitum ‘Sparks Variety’ growing 5-6ft tall here is a wonderful herbaceous border plant. It never looks much in a pot in the nursery.

2018 – CHW
Sorbus wilsoniana with three clusters of berries ripening away on a young plant planted only in 2013.

Acanthopanax aff. sessiflorus (now eleutherococcus presumably) we saw last autumn with clusters of black fruits but we did not see these extraordinary flowers in spherical heads. Quite bizarre really.

2017 – CHW
A new syringa species to us flowering for the first time in August. Syringa reticulata looks much like Heptacodium miconoides but the scent is rather nicer!