2023 – CHW
The Cordyline australis clump cut down as near dead last summer shows no signs of shooting from the base and needs digging out.
2022 – CHW
The new pheasant pen at the top of Giddle Orchard and above Kitchen Garden is now complete.
Tom Christian thought this was Nothofagus nitida and not Nothofagus dombeyi as I had always thought. The two are similar. If he is right, we should expect bronzy new growth so we must wait and see. The leaves do seem larger than on the plant shown next and have a slightly different configuration on the twigs.
The rain this week has been exactly what the garden and the farm crops have needed. I saw the first two swifts last night but did not see them go to their nest site in the tallest tower eaves. A good 20 house martins happily building their nests and mating away. Hopefully more pairs will appear any day. No sign yet of the swallows in the back yard which have hatched two or three broods above the dog kennels in recent years. A good show of grey wagtails on the lawn but I have yet to see a flycatcher there.Here is a good bit of refutation of one of the many COVID conspiracy theories floating about in the ether of social media:Confirmation of what was suspected – click hereNobel Laureate Tasuku Honjo Refutes Link To ‘Man-Made’ Coronavirus Claim – click here for details.Nobel prize winner Professor Tasuku Honjo presumably did not actually make the claims attributed to him earlier.All good clean fun for the conspiracy theorists but just another example of how mad this is all getting.However I do not see much Chinese involvement in our 5G networks happening whatever the government said pre COVID.
The wisteria on the camellias and over the building below the Playhouse is at its best today after another good night’s rain.
‘Nuccio’s Jewel’
2019 – CHW
An IDS tour with 30 people. Wonderful trip with knowledgeable people from all round the world. Two and a half hours was not enough. Click here for their ‘Thank You’ email and photos.
Syringa microphylla ‘Superba’ just starting to flower by the front door.
Then on to Tregothnan for an evening tour.
Eucalyptus coccifera in full flower offsetting the peeling bark.
The camellia species I could not remember last time was Camellia glabsipetala. It is not in the Chinese camellia species book.Weinmannia trichosperma in full flower.
The first time I have seen the newish tree paeony collection in flower. There has been loads of hassle with the labelling and with the survival rate. As usual with Chinese suppliers many turned out initially not to be what they were supposed to be.Paeonia ‘Superb’
2018 – CHW
Off to the greenhouse to sort through seedling rhododendrons then to be grown on in the frames and others to the nursery bed in the Rookery. Asia has done a superb job in the last six months to get the production line of replacement plants going. So many species live only short lives that if you forget to propagate they are gone. With the closure of Glendoick nurseries, at least for mail order, where else in the UK can you actually now buy rhodo species in variety? Defra is probably to blame for turning all rhododendrons into invasive beings in the public perception.
On the way above the greenhouse is Magnolia ‘Sunsation’ with its very erect and upright habit. One of the better yellow mixtures but many of the Sunsomethings are very similar indeed.
A Clematis forsteri cutting with a few flowers.
2017 – CHW
To Burncoose to finalise the 2017/8 budget and enjoy the unaudited year end figures to 31.3.17 which make happy reading yet again.
Rhododendron ‘Surrey Heath’ is another good yakusimanum hybrid which is one colour in bud and when first out but quite another when full out. You can see both outside the nursery entrance where some have had more full sun than others.
2016 – CHWThe season is racing on alarmingly quickly and no matter how many times you go around the garden there are still many surprises to take in before you miss them for another year.
Crataegus chinensis in flower in the greenhouse is a new plant to us.
A filthy day with some rain and a strong south east wind. Perhaps a good night for lamping!
Two new first time flowering magnolias (to me anyway):
Magnolia ‘Rose Marie x Black Tulip’ is a very late flowerer and darkish red but lacks the neat shape of Black Tulip. Do not see this being one for the public at large even if it does get awarded a name.
Magnolia ‘Carlos’ is yet another pale-ish yellow but has no particular distinguishing marks that would make many people want to grow it.Good to see yellow flowers on Yellow Lantern from the front door today. A new first for Caerhays as the plant is tall enough to show up (against the new beech leaves behind) above the wall by the old play house.
Three Syringa pinnata full out outside the front gate. I first saw this very unlilac-like syringa at Altamont Garden in south Ireland 10 years ago and had no idea what it was. Susyn Andrews had one in a bag at Rosemoor. She is probably the most knowledgeable botanist/plant identifier in the UK so we appear to share a ‘like’.
Also Berberis insignis var insignis flowering for the first time having just shed its large and very prickly old leaves. Rather ‘floppy’ but perhaps it will square up in time.
I am not one for herbaceous woodland plants but Cardamine pentaphyllos on the drive was always a favourite of my mother’s. The white form seems to have died out beside the purple on the drive.
1998 – FJW
A very wet April – cold.
1993 – FJW
A wet April.
1944 – CW
All daffs over in Tin Garden. Auklandii still very good. Magnolia rostrata and fraseri out also. A good many Maddeni hybrids. Single peonies and two double out in Tin Garden.
1911 – JCW
A few daffs to come. Montana rubra ⅓ open. Indian Arboreums at their best. Auklandii’s a few open. Sir C Lemon going over. Big recurvas poet at its best.
1900 – JCW
Audreana shows colour. Many Iris germanica open, daffs are nearly over except Marvel and recurvas not yet open.
(Handwritten note attached to Garden Book page re planting out of Oaks and Magnolias in Oct 1927 to Feb 1928).
Hi,
Interested in your comments re Magnolia “Jersey Belle”.
In my teens I worked as a garden boy at Highdown (Chalk Garden). It was there that I saw Magnolia highdownensis and this on a soil no lower than pH 8. Of course the sweetly scented pendant blooms looked great but even then I was more interested in the form and foliage. The wide spreading multi branched form together with the bold foliage pleased me. Although I worked in arboriculture most of my working life the opportunity to re aquaint oneself with old friends is not always possible and memory dims.
I planted a 3 litre pot of M wilsonii but it hasnt done well. Planted as a small plant and badly attacked by slugs. Soil heavy clay with some sub soil (disturbed soil) although I have mulched. I planted when soil was at its most workable.
So I am left with the decision of whether to replace with another M wilsonii or go with Jersey Belle. I prefer a multi stem wide spreading habit. Wondered if the larger flowers would go brown and hang on the tree in inclement weather? Also interested in your comment about it being a grafted plant. Would you consider it preferable for this plant to be produced from cuttings and is there a disadvantage of grafted Magnolias?
Also is there much difference between the two, branching form and foliage wise. Trouble with that as always it requires one to have seen both plants when reasonably mature often no easy task. Or perhaps I should go with something such as M sieboldii or sinensis as an alternative?
Would value any suggestions please as I have little experience of this Genus.
Many thanks,
All best,
Frank.
Dear Frank
As far as growth and habit are concerned there is very little to choose between wilsonii, Jersey Belle, sieboldii or sinensis. All are multi stemmed, spreading trees and (with the exception of Jersey Belle) they will all be on their own roots rather than being grafted.
If you are worried about your soil and are looking for a quick result in terms of early flowering I think Magnolia sieboldii would probably be the easiest to grow.
However, at the end of the day, it is really for personal choice as to which flowers you like best.
Kind regards
Charles