22nd January

FJ Williams Profile Picture
FJW 1955-2007
CH Williams Profile Picture
CHW 2015-
JC Williams Profile Picture
JCW 1897-1939
C Williams Profile Picture
CW 1940-1955


2024 – CHW

Struck down with a chest infection and firmly in bed this week feeling ghastly. These are Jaimie’s diary entries.

The nine young swans bred last year are finally being driven off the lake by their parents amid a lot of noise and flapping of wings.

nine young swans
nine young swans
nine young swans
nine young swans
The accumulation of sand blown from the beach onto the road has been removed by Bob with the telehandler. We now look forward to the restricted parking and no parking signs which have finally been approved by Cornwall Council after a 3 year struggle.
accumulation of sand blown from the beach
accumulation of sand blown from the beach
Despite the frost last week Rhododendron keysii still intact and undamaged.
Rhododendron keysii
Rhododendron keysii
Rhododendron keysii
Rhododendron keysii
Another plant of Rhododendron ririei just opening. A darker colour than the one seen recently.
Rhododendron ririei
Rhododendron ririei
Rhododendron ririei
Rhododendron ririei
Camellia x williamsii ‘Mimosa Jury’ just starting into flower and certainly early.
Camellia x williamsii ‘Mimosa Jury’
Camellia x williamsii ‘Mimosa Jury’

2023 – CHW
First daffodils out in Kennel Close.
First daffodils
First daffodils
First daffodils
First daffodils
More laurel hedge cut back below the Main Ride.
laurel hedge
laurel hedge
First flowers on Camellia x williamsii ‘Caerhays’.
Camellia x williamsii ‘Caerhays’
Camellia x williamsii ‘Caerhays’
First flowers out exceptionally early on Michelia ‘Fairy White’. A bit of frost damage.
Michelia ‘Fairy White’
Michelia ‘Fairy White’
Flowers now showing properly on Magnolia campbellii by Tin Garden.
Magnolia campbellii
Magnolia campbellii
Magnolia campbellii
Magnolia campbellii
Leaf blowing below Burns Bank.
Leaf blowing
Leaf blowing

2022 – CHW
An unexpected bit of storm damage down on Bond Street.
storm damage
storm damage
The second magnolia in the garden showing colour. Not surprisingly this is again Magnolia campbellii ‘Strybing White’. Originally from New Zealand and planted here in 1990.
Magnolia campbellii ‘Strybing White’
Magnolia campbellii ‘Strybing White’
Camellia ‘Hiraethlyn’ with just a hint of pink.
Camellia ‘Hiraethlyn’
Camellia ‘Hiraethlyn’
Camellia ‘Hiraethlyn’
Camellia ‘Hiraethlyn’

2021 – CHW
A month earlier than usual, and entirely due to lockdown, Asia and I spent yesterday picking out larger plants from the frames to plant out in different parts of the garden when it dries up a bit. We shifted a great deal and had the first planting session in the November lockdown. Even more to do this year than for several years with a distinct shortage of space apart from Old Park and Forty Acres Wood. I have perhaps overdone the ordering and propagation during the March to July lockdown out of boredom and a desire to cheer up with something pleasant and more productive.

Camellia x williamsii ‘Hiraethlyn’ was bred at Bodnant and has a slightly elongated shape with just hints of pink on the outside and inside of the outer petals. Slightly frilly edges to the petals. Three years from being a cutting. Not sure where this came from but a good thing.

Camellia x williamsii ‘Hiraethlyn’
Camellia x williamsii ‘Hiraethlyn’
Camellia x williamsii ‘Hiraethlyn’
Camellia x williamsii ‘Hiraethlyn’
A flower on a two year old rooted cutting from Tregrehan of Camellia yushienensis. Another new species to us here.
Camellia yushienensis
Camellia yushienensis
Piles of plants for Kennel Close and the Georges Hut area.
Piles of plants
Piles of plants
Another pile for behind the greenhouse and the new area above Crinodendron Hedge.
Another pile
Another pile
Magnolias for Forty Acres – mainly less exciting (breeding wise) new additions to the national collection. Around 60 new magnolias overall to go out now. We have grown these on for a couple of years. Potting annually in a shaded, plastic top covered but open sided frame built decades ago. Another 30 or so are still too small to go out this year and a further crop of 40 to 50 yet more new named and grafted varieties which arrived last November from Holland, Belgium and Switzerland or as gifts from gardening friends and Burncoose have yet to be potted on. These are mostly two to three years away from being big enough to plant out. Very few buds to be seen this year on any of the younger magnolia plants. Far less than on last year’s batch.
Magnolias for Forty Acres
Magnolias for Forty Acres
A few more flowers now out on the Tin Garden Magnolia campbellii which you can actually see in better light.
Magnolia campbellii
Magnolia campbellii
Flowers now out low down on Camellia x williamsii ‘Mary Jobson’ and the scent is good today.
Camellia x williamsii ‘Mary Jobson’
Camellia x williamsii ‘Mary Jobson’

2020 – CHW
I looked at Magnolia campbellii var. alba ‘Strybing White’ last Sunday and there was no sign of any colour. Now, after three days of sunshine, the first evidence of undamaged flowers has started to appear.
Magnolia campbellii var. alba ‘Strybing White’
Magnolia campbellii var. alba ‘Strybing White’
Magnolia campbellii var. alba ‘Strybing White’
Magnolia campbellii var. alba ‘Strybing White’
Meanwhile the rather pale campbellii near Tin Garden has seen a couple of its flowers begin to open.
campbellii
campbellii
campbellii
campbellii
We looked at the flower buds of Fatsia polycarpa around Christmas time. These are not yet fully open but certainly pretty impressive for this time of the year.
Fatsia polycarpa
Fatsia polycarpa

2019 – CHW
The oddly bicoloured Rhododendron irrorata anthosphaerum just coming out below the Main Ride.
Rhododendron irrorata anthosphaerum
Rhododendron irrorata anthosphaerum
Rhododendron irrorata anthosphaerum
Rhododendron irrorata anthosphaerum
Rhododendron barbatum now fully out with Edward Farmer and Thomas Methuen-Campbell looking on admiringly. It is scentless but that did not stop them trying.
Rhododendron barbatum
Rhododendron barbatum
Rhododendron barbatum
Rhododendron barbatum
Rhododendron sutchuenense full out too above the borehole.
Rhododendron sutchuenense
Rhododendron sutchuenense

2018 – CHW
Look at how much woodpeckers have been enjoying the rotten centre of this old sycamore tree.

old sycamore tree
old sycamore tree

2017 – CHW
A surprising find today. The tender Chilean Peumus boldus in full flower by Tin Garden. The flower clusters are white and stand proud at the end of the stems. I have never seen this evergreen in flower before and it is covered. The reference books say it is a summer flowering small tree or large shrub. Is this early or late?
Peumus boldus
Peumus boldus
Peumus boldus
Peumus boldus

2016 – CHW
As expected Magnolia ‘Star Wars’ has several flowers showing a rather pale colour. Not as far out as its sister, Magnolia ‘Red Lion’, pictured a week or so ago.

Magnolia ‘Star Wars’
Magnolia ‘Star Wars’

Magnolia zenii above the greenhouse has one decent flower out. A good month earlier than we looked at this with Jim Gardiner last year in the first week of March.

Magnolia zenii
Magnolia zenii

1998 – FJW
Spawning in Greenhouse pond goes on a pace – a great deal of Rhodo but magnolias not all that forward.

1954 – CW
First Magnolia campbellii full out – many double Camellias as Mathotiana. Double Prunus by Kennel, several Reticulata seedlings. Red Admiral at Ririei out a week. Some Red Arboreum x and also Sutchuenense, Cross Bill x Golden Oriole. Machrostenem – 8 Reticulata seedlings and Mary W.

1929 – JCW
H mollis quite wonderful. Parvifolium is good and nothing else – four weeks of wind and cold.

1928 – JCW
E darleyense ⅓ open Camellia speciosa, H mollis – R mucronulatum, R parvifolium, R moupinense all nice, Lutescens in the hall, several good hybrids open.

1927 – JCW
E darlyense starts, some Lapagerias, Blood red hybrids have been out for a month, no daffs. Mucronulatum, H mollis and Camellia sasanquas are all past. One or two sutchuenense hybrids show colour, the majority have no bud.

1921 – JCW
Hamamelis is over, E darleyense is at its best, R mucronulatum is passing. The pink Obtusum remains very good. C coums are nice, Cotoneaster salicifolia good. Many early Rhodos are far enough on to pick buds off them including R argenteum.

1908 – JCW
Snowdrops and Aconites been out for 8 to 10 days. C coums at their best. Roses hold on yet. We have had frost but not really very hard. C balearica nice.

1897 – JCW
Iris stylosa in flower at Tregony been out for a week.