28th January 1897 – 2020 | The Garden Diary

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2020 – CHW
Magnolia campbellii ‘Strybing White’ now has a few flowers that are fully open, as you can see against this overcast sky.

Illicium anisatum is out in flower already. We now have several species of Illicium and they seem to flower in spring, summer and autumn. Illicium anisatum is sometimes out as early as this but by no means every year.

The laurel pruning between Donkey Shoe and Higher Quarry Nursery is now nearly complete as you can see. Jaimie is worried that a smallish oak tree with a dead crown needs to come down on the corner where it will not make much mess now that the laurel hedge has been trimmed. When I looked at this last week the oak tree had got plenty of lower branches which still looked fairly vigorous and, unless the tree survey records anything different, I suspect it should be left there for a few years more.

2019 – CHW
Some newly planted camellias are performing beyond the Playhouse:Camellia japonica ‘Oo La La’ with a nice frill.

Camellia japonica ‘Carolyn Tuttle’. The other flowers damaged by today’s hailstorms.

Camellia reticulata ‘Mouchang’ has only two flowers. They are however at least 10in across and gigantic by camellia standards. Planted in 2009 the bush is 7-8ft tall with a spread of 6-7ft. The buds are huge too!

2018 – CHW

The new plant sales area outside the new shop is starting to take shape.

Magnolia ‘Todds Fortyniner’ has moved on more than a little in the last week.

A rather better plant of Rhododendron ‘Christmas Cheer’ than the one we saw recently on the drive.

Rabbit damage to the base of a 12-15ft tall young Sequoiadendron giganteum.

Intense flowering on a newly planted Cupressus duclouxiana in the Isla Rose Plantation.

Trochodendron araliodes from Taiwan has some seed heads which are mainly still green.

2017 – CHW
A sunny day and mild to start with. The Rhododendron mucronulatums are nearly over but the new season’s growth is already evident. A very quick turnaround despite the recent cold.

Another honey fungus rhododendron casualty stands out. An old oak was removed from here five years ago and its decaying roots are causing the damage.

The Camellia reticulata seedling by Four in Hand has a few flowers opening in the sun.

Some snowdrop clumps are nearly over and some just emerging three weeks after their adjacent predecessors.

Lawn and park resplendent in the morning sun.

Then off to present the prizes at the beach to the field trial (Labradors) competitors. It had rained hard on them pre lunch. Four lady judges and everyone very happy as you can see. The winner had a yellow Labrador.

2016 – CHW
Echium pinnifolium outside the drawing room window has gone black after the minor frost (one night only) about a week ago. It will probably survive and go on to flower if we get no more cold but this shows just how tender this beautiful biennial really is. The others by the front door are still fine.

2000 – FJW
Dry January – light frost for 10 nights. Camellias good, no sign of Magnolias.1994 – FJW
Four flowers on – Mollicomata/ Robusta hybrid near back yard.1967 – FJW
Very early and impossibly mild. David picked two daffs. Saw a member of the Swallow family looking fit and well.1961 – FJW
Rain has been incessant since August.1959 – FJW
Garden behind – one or two poor Sutchuenense hyb’s. Mucronulatum in drive very good, scabrifolium coming. Weather mild after cold wet spell.

1934 – JCW
R mucronulatum bed is by far our best shrub in flower. Erica hybrida is opening on the Terrace. R moupinense is very good and so is R Ririei.

1928 – JCW
Very late year and very poor examples of any of the above plants and for the most part very few of them open.

1918 – JCW
Moupinense is open as to one third, bits of lutescens, scabrifolium, sutchuenense, Blood red hybrid and a fair bit of Nobleanum with a little mucronulatum. Erica hybrids very fine indeed. I saw the first lambs tails in flower.

1916 – JCW
Johnstone here and called off to Egypt before we got out. Prunus cerasus conradinae now is the best thing open. P pissardi has one third of the flowers out. R praecox very good, Erica hybrid excellent, R moupinense very nice. A few daffs are about, R nobleanum has every flower open and perfect. A very mild winter up to this.

1914 – JCW
Quite a late year so far from 1914. No sign of a trumpet daff here. C coum is nice, Aconite open but scarce. All the heaths coming to be nice.

1902 – JCW
I picked two seedling trumpets in the Kitchen Garden, cold and fine.