Wild Crocosmia reshooting vigorously but I see no sign yet of any of the 2 forms of garlic which grow in the garden. The garlic has to be late into leaf in what is, currently at least, a remarkably early year.

Acacia baileyana now at its best.

The nearly evergreen here, Cotoneaster glabratus, is still loaded with berries on the drive. I grew this from seed from the Werrington plant 40+ years ago. The plants below Slip Rail have no berries this year but the small tree in Kennel Close is similarly laden. Why don’t the pheasants or thrushes like these berries? Well worth growing a few as this is a wonderful species which deserves to be much more widely grown.

Interesting fissured bark on Nothofagus obliqua on the drive. Very variable on both sides of the tree and at height.

x Sycoparrotia semidecidua just coming into flower above White Styles. Half the small tree is indeed leafless.

2023 – CHW (images to follow)
A cold snap looms again this week and the garden looks grey, wintery and uninviting.

Camellia x williamsii ‘Galaxy’ just out high up – only 2 flowers.

Rhododendron ‘Bo Peep’ out a bit more.

First flower out high up on Camellia x williamsii ‘Citation’ (‘Delia Williams’ not showing yet).

Camellia ‘Cinnamon Scentsation’ just showing.

Camellia ‘Cinnamon Cindy’ full out and rather good today.

2022 – CHW
Warm and sunny still with a few bumblebees confused by the weather. Good to see. Is spring here? The birds think so!

Acacia cultriformis nearly out in flower – earlier than usual.

First flowers on Camellia ‘Oo La La’.

A young Camellia ‘Bokuhan’ well out but with some chlorotic leaves.

First flowers high up on Camellia x williamsii ‘Caerhays’. Still rather pale but earlier than last year I suspect. ‘Caerhays’ is one of the last williamsii to flower and long after its sister seedling (also double), ‘George Blandford’.

First flower on Camellia ‘Alba Simplex’.

Unexpectedly leaves remain on Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Oconee’ and still have good colour.

2021 – CHW

Camellia ‘Adolphe Audusson’ now coming out properly on Burns Bank.

More buds opening on Magnolia ‘Todd’s Fortyniner’.

Camellia ‘Buttons and Bows’ now full out.

Acacia baileyana just coming out.

Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Umbilicata’ (as named by Susyn Andrews) in flower with fruit still on the tree. We have simply known it as the quince below Slip Rail.

Camellia grisjii full out.

Camellia ‘Cornish Snow’ and Camellia reticulata ‘Mary Williams’.

A fine flower on Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’.

2020 – CHW
Sixty mile an hour winds thrash the garden again two days after Storm Brendan. Twigs and branches all over the newly swept paths.The first colour on a magnolia this year today as a result of the gales. Some pale flowers showing on the elderly Magnolia campbellii by Tin Garden. This is usually the forerunner of the magnolia season but “Todd’s Forty Niner” has come first in the last two years. Nothing doing here yet.

2019 – CHW
All three flower colours are now evident on Camellia ‘Adelina Patti’ as you can see here. What an extraordinary ‘sporting’ camellia this is. The white flower has some touches of pink but I suspect there will be pure white flowers soon.

A young plant of Daphne bholua ‘Limpsfield’ flowering here for the first time and, of course, smelling gorgeous.

2018 – CHW
The old Paulownia tomentosa tree, located in the Main Quarry, has a dead side branch and from the fissure in the trunk is growing a Pinus radiata seedling. It has clearly been developing here for three or four years. The Pinus radiata grows above the quarry. The paulownia was a birthday gift to my mother from my father but has never really thrived here. Perhaps the soil is too thin or its top is too exposed and cold. Flowering has been sparse over the years with plenty of dieback.

Vaccinum urceolatum has well developed flower and/or new growth leaf buds in the Rockery. Rather forward for the time of the year. It was not long ago that we were admiring the black seeds and collecting them from this very rare plant.

2017 – CHW
An update on the newer climbing hydrangeas on the top wall. Hydrangea serratifolia (ex Holland) is now romping away but no flowers as yet. Most of the leaves have now serrations at all but the odd larger one has two or three spines on its leave edges and some odd spotting within some leaves. This is possibly insect larvae but does not look like it.

This was a much newer Hydrangea serratifolia from another source which did have serrated leaves. Pheasants or rabbits have left us only two now although there were several pre Christmas. The strange thing is that neither plant looks like the mature flowering specimen growing on a palm tree in the Chilean section of the Tregothnan arboretum. A very variable species I am told.

Hydrangea anomela subsp anomela has a few leaves still intact which is surprising. This climbing hydrangea, from a Crug Farm collection, is not self clinging. Flowers are smallish. An oddity but never likely to be a best seller.

2016 – CHW
Magnolia ‘Todds Forty-Niner’ ten days on and looking superb.