1st February 1897 – 2020 | The Garden Diary

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2020 – CHW
Camellia ‘Cornish Snow’ is now shedding furiously below Donkey Shoe but there will be some flowers still to come out for weeks yet.

Camellia reticulata ‘Mary Williams’ full out. A 1931 planting and just behind the ‘Cornish Snow’ which is probably of a very similar age.

A young Camellia ‘Spring Mist’ with its first flowers (Camellia japonica x Camellia lutchuensis). Quite nice but not that special a colour.

Alarmingly a few leaves have come out already on Magnolia ‘March-till-Frost’.

Then one of these sudden new surprises which makes gardening such fun. Twenty to twenty-five years ago we dug and grew on a large batch of self-sown Rhododendron grande seedlings from within and beside the greenhouse frames. One above the main greenhouse is flowering for the first time today and is clearly (despite its yellowish leaves) an interesting hybrid which may one day be worthy of a name. The only thing it could have crossed with is the nearby Rhododendron ‘Cornish Red’ or the rather further away Rhododendron arboreum subsp. delavayi. No other larger leafed rhododendrons are out this early to have allowed the natural cross to have taken place.

Nearby is a ‘true’ Rhododendron grande seedling by way of comparison.

I must now check all the other clumps to see if other seedlings have similar colour variations. There is a big clump below Hovel Cart Road and others in the Ririei Opening.

2019 – CHW
Rhododendron ‘Red Admiral’ is starting to come out by Georges Hut. A very good red indeed and a Caerhays hybrid. About its normal flowering time.

The guinea fowl enjoy the sun in Kennel Close. They have happily and craftily all survived another shooting season and must be at least five years old now.

Camellia x williamsii ‘Muskoka’ is full out. Huge flowers for any single williamsii.

Camellia x williamsii ‘Jurys Yellow’ looks pleasant only for an instant before the flowers get battered or develop petal blight. Nothing much one can do about petal blight in a woodland garden context really except put up with it.

2018 – CHW
Heavy rain has caused another landslip on Porthluney Hill. Road not quite blocked but impassable to anything larger than a car. It feels like it has rained for the last three months. Everything sodden underfoot. It must dry up soon! Perhaps a fine dry flowering spring?

2017 – CHW
One of the young seedlings of Rhododendron grande which originally self sowed themselves in the frames by the greenhouse is out up Hovel Cart Road. A rather pale colour. This is not yet out at Burncoose nor are the older plants here.

2016 – CHW
Beaters shooting all around on the very last day of the season. Peace will soon reign!Swarms of snowdrops interspersed with daffodils by the Four in Hand and several sorts of daffodils nearby a good month early.

Now two magnolias out outside the back yard. The larger of these was showing colour on 2nd January so the progress of the flowers opening has thankfully been slow.

The restored Nash arch on Battery Walk is now virtually complete and finally the scaffolding and cladding has come down. An impressive feature from the car park and from Penvergate Wood.

Then off to Penvergate where there are three magnolias out already: Magnolia campbellii ‘Sidbury’ is full out with some wind damage. This was planted in 1997 and sadly in a place where few will ever see it in tis full glory. It is a nice campbellii shape and a pleasant nice colour.

Magnolia soulangeana ‘Alba Superba’, planted in 1997, has a few flowers starting to come out. The first soulangeana variety eight to ten weeks early at least.

Magnolia ‘Peter Smithers’ planted in 2006 is a hybrid between Magnolia soulangeana ‘Rustica Rubra’ and Magnolia x veitchii. Clearly blown open early but it is still a rather dull and turgid colour with x veitchii colouring but more of a cup shaped flower. Not very nice to me anyway. In fact a magnolia to avoid! Writing rude things about Sir Peter is merely tit for tat after what he once wrote about David Knuckey and Burncoose some 30 years ago.

2004 – FJW
Dry January. Seaweed left pond – 2 swans arrived.

1999 – FJW
Williamsii at their best – Wet January.

1997 – FJW
Very dry January – first rain for weeks today – snowdrops out and front gate Mucronulatum full out and had emerged from cold spell unharmed.

1995 – FJW
Very wet January – said to have rained every day in the month.

1994 – FJW
January mild and wet – Camellias – no Mag flower yet.

1979 – FJW
First snowdrop. Damage from blizzard of Dec 30/31 – very bad indeed.

1966 – FJW
Mild period. After static period, the garden advances – I fear too fast.

1942 – CW
Hoofedicoat and white Narcissus out in Tin Garden – several Sutuenense hybrids and Blood Red – Arboreum in middle ride – Moupinense beginning. Cam reticulata species bud picked just opening – Rho Ririei – Camellia hybrids good and early double white – cut up dead Mag salicifolia below Engine House – over 30ft high – Rhus blown over in gale week before also one Camelia oleifera. Snowdrops good – some Lapagerias.

1931 – JCW
H mollis after three weeks in flower have gone over. Erica hybrida is very fine indeed and some of the Mucronulatum have been good.

1917 – JCW
A hard frost holds and we have had it on and off for over a month, the Hamamelis mollis alone gives us anything. We lately had a terrific easterly gale, it cut the boughs off the yew as if a man had worked his clippers for hours.

1913 – JCW
Just back from six weeks in Spain. A very early year it may be the earliest since 1897. There are seven or eight species of Rhodo’ open and about the same number of varieties, the early cherry and all the P pissardi which is the best plant now, several Camellias including one Reticulata.