2020 – CHW
While President Trump attempts to pretend he was being ‘frivolous’ when he appeared to be telling people to drink bleach, or inject themselves, or at least ‘try it out’, we are now getting to the real crunch. Business leaders reckon we have all been ‘on holiday’ for quite long enough to fuck up the economy and force us to pay back what the government has so efficiently paid us as businesses, employees, and the self-employed. Not much thanks for that of course and still plenty of aggrieved bleaters who have fallen through the net (Branson of all people!) which of course they have and will.
With Boris back I would hope (and have expected for some while) that we will be, at least business wise, be released from the worst of lockdown by the end of next week. Not the moment for a piss-up to celebrate but common sense, and work, and reality has to get going again before we fall into a state supported socialist slumber of entitlement, idleness, and inactivity as being the normal way of life. The more I hear ‘wittering’ in the media about mental stress, strain, and entitlement the more I fear for reality and our democracy.
It has been a ‘war’ and, so far at least, the vast majority have survived (including the NHS). There will be more casualties in the ‘war’ but, unless we start to ‘get on with it’, there will not be anything which we would have previously recognised to get on with! As it is ‘staying-in’ has probably caused more hardship, illness, and long term medical damage to people and the economy than corona.
Hindsight and historians will find all this to have been bonkers! Only the British public would have obeyed so readily. Just look at German and US protestors. China knows how to deal with them!
The new great ‘Satan’ from whom 75% of the plants which we enjoy today actually came?
A still overcast day where the scents of rhododendrons were quite overpowering. The rhododendrons are at their absolute best now. However it is a very early year and we do, now, desperately need real rain. It seems COVID-19 has kept the wet weather flows away. Perhaps the jet streams over the Atlantic have less pollution driving them. The breeze has been in the east for the last four weeks.
A Burncoose day over, amongst budget meetings and photography we found time to prepare a pre Chelsea video which you can see here.
[for Clare for forwarding to Adrian Agley re dead New Zealand acers)Telopea ‘Shady Lady White’ now full out in all its glory.
The rhododendrons in the garden are at their absolute peak. Better than anything we saw last week in Ireland. Enjoy! The ‘May’ flowering well on the cliff edges and the first batch of house martins building their nests. Not a full complement here yet.A Rhododendron williamsianum hybrid called Rhododendron ‘Bow Bells’ AGM is just showing. A dwarf variety with huge flowers.
2017 – CHW Slight frost last night but nothing serious. Gloves needed in the sun and still no rain at all. A few more rhododendrons to catch up with.
Another berberis on the drive. This one is Berberis hookeri planted in 1999. Had not really noticed it before. Greenish yellow flowers.
Mother always raved about a daffodil called ‘Green Howard’ which used to grow by the front gate. A poor spot and it only flowered occasionally. The flowers eventually had light pink centres despite its name. From Trewithn I seem to remember. It was a bit like this lot in a clay pot in the yard with smaller pink trumpets.
A brief wander into the Upper and Lower Rockeries shows successes and failures:Only one small clump of Rhododendron russatum survives from what was a double tiered clump 30 years ago. We have tried three times elsewhere to re-establish a clump but without success. Seems to like poor soil and dry conditions.
Another ancient plant of Azalea ‘Tebotan’ which looks much more like the plant I remember growing by the original Camellia reticulatas than the one featured last week. In the rhododendron pocket guide this is billed as a species; Rhododendron yedoense which is apparently a garden cultivated azalea that grows wild in Korea. Well worth propagating anyway.
A newish plant of Berberis amurensis ‘Latifolia’ (ex Crug) flowering nicely for the first time.
Magnolia ‘Limelight’ has an extraordinary spreading habit which shows off the flowers properly. A better coloured yellow than ‘Yellow Lantern’?
The five new plants of Magnolia Caerhays Splendour planted in pride of place in the old paeony beds where we dug out various (poor) cherries are coming into leaf. What a sight behind the castle this might be in 30 years’ time!
1997 – FJW
(See entry on March 26, 1997)
First two days of rain since about March 3rd. Least good this year have been the Camellias.
1953 – CW
Brought nice bunches of daffodils from Kennel Close. Still poets in Tin Garden.
1917 – JCW
The following species of rhodo’ in flower: fastigiatum +,intricatum + , Williamsianum +, campylocarpum, thomsoni +x, lutescens +, fargesii + -,caucasicum (2 forms of yellow) +, sinovirgatum +, neriiflorum +, argenteum + -, Sir C Lemon +, arboreum + – , barbatum + – , campanulatum +, keysii +, rubiginosum +, cuneatum ( for the 1st time) +, racemosum + – , irroratum + – , afghanicum, davidsonianum +, pachytrichum +, sutchuenense + – , oreodoxa + – , augustini +i, ciliatum + – , calophytum + – , hookeri + – , faberi, trillianum, scabrifolium + – , searsiae +, barbatum +, maculiferum +.
+ all open on March 20, 1926
– going over.
1916 – JCW
Auklandii not quite open, a very bad year for flower, few buds and many cut by frost. Cherries very good. R ciliatum open, one very good Augustinii. Fastigiatums are splendid at Werrington.
1912 – JCW
Berberis stenophylla very good. Auklandii at their best. Clematis montana nice but the flower is small. Maples very good. The Augustinii are the best things now, though R orbiculare is very good.
1910 – JCW
No recurvas yet. Dalhousii breaks bud. Auklandii’s open. Maples good. Azaleas starting. Berberis stenophylla at its best and also Clematis montana rubra.
1903 – JCW
Dalhousii breaking bud, sent off two recurvas yesterday, marvel just open, a few seedlings to come, several Auklandii and Azaleas open, a few carmine pillar open. Thomsonii over. Maples are good.
1900 – JCW
Came back from the Drill Hall and Appleshaw, Triandrus hybrids at the former and Lulworth seedlings at the latter impressed me most of all, a bad year for colour, afterwards bought the Lulworth seedlings.
1898 – JCW
The first P recurvas just open. The early Auklandii has one bloom, Countess of Haddington half open.
1897 – JCW
Poeticus recurvas nearly all open. Azalea altaclarence half open, various mollis open. Maples looking well. Auklandii’s out. Edgeworthi opens. Countess of Haddington open. Gentians very good.