The trunk of Nothofagus antarctica in The Cottage field.

Even the hawthorns have small crops of fruit in these drought conditions.

Rowan fighting for their lives.

Burdocks already dead.

Too late for these Bird cherries which have defoliated and died.

No acorns to be seen.

But a little badly formed Beech mast on the Copper Beach.

The new roof on The Cottage.

2025 – CHW

After a week away the garden is depressing and plenty of things are dying and shrivelled up. We have survived the three heatwaves with some rain here and there but we are now desperate in the current strong hot easterly wind.

Rubble from the start of the swimming pool at White Styles to lay in the track to Derrciks.

Jonny Cann, the KPK site manager, and Jaimie discuss a broken sewage pipe at the start of the big dig out for the swimming pool.

The start of the site works.

Escallonia bifida at its best.

The female flowers on one Mallotus japonicus are maturing.

As are the male flowers on another plant.

A dying Cercidiphyllum. This genus is especially prone to drought.

Hand hooking and weeding through plants now complete in Kennel Close.

Ehretia anacua split out in the strong warm winds.

Dying Rhododendron fragrantissimum.

Hydrangea ‘Vanilla Fraise’ on its last legs.

2024 – CHW
The South African Cyrtanthus elatus (Scarborough lily) flowering well again in a pot at The Cottage in Yorkshire. It lives in a greenhouse in Borrowby for the rest of the year.

Also in The Cottage garden are Elaeagnus ‘Quicksilver’ and Salix udensis ‘Golden Sunshine’ growing side by side.

Huge clumps of Rhododendron ponticum cut back from beside The Cottage to make room for the scaffolding needed to reroof the place.

Trevor Green’s columnar oak tree, planted in 2018 to commemorate 100 years at The Cottage, continues to grow well.

Plenty of Lesser Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) in full flower on the bank outside The Cottage.

Stachys officinalis, more commonly known as Betony, is rather different to the form I photographed recently at Caerhays. There are several forms and species as I discover.

2023 – CHW
Attached are 3 lists which record the Carpinus, Tilia, Lindera and Litsea collections currently growing here. I wonder how many will survive 30 years and how many will prove to be worth growing. Also how many name changes the taxonomists will impose on us along the way and how many new wild species may yet be introduced into cultivation.

Carpinus – click to download
Tilia – click to download
Lindera & Litsea – click to download

2022 – CHW
Then I have a look at the Knapweed in the field to try and compare it to the Caerhays forms inspected 2-3 weeks ago.

Although the flowers were long over, except in full shade, all the plants are, I think, Centaurea nigra or Lesser Knapweed. The dried seed heads are much browner than our form of Centaurea nigra or Centaurea debeauxii. The leaf formation tallies to the reference book as well.

A cottage mouse caught in the open.

2021 – CHW
Sam Turner & Sons at Piercebridge is not much of a garden centre in the strict sense of the term and really a clothing and sundries store like our Griggs in Cornwall. Not much of interest plant wise.

Kniphofia ‘Orange Vanilla Pop’

Coreopsis ‘American Dream’ and Lysimachia ‘Alexander’

Hypericum inodorum ‘Magical Beauty’ which I first saw in flower at Bodmin Garden Centre. Impressive seed heads now as well.

Allium ‘Millennium Lavender Bubbles’

Geranium ‘Hocus Pocus’ with near black leaves.