20th August

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CONTRIBUTORS:

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2024 – CHW

Plenty more magnolias seen in flower today.

Magnolia ‘Caerhays Surprise’ which seldom has secondary flowers. This single one by George’s Hut is not far off the spring norm in colour but a bit smaller.

Rhododendrnon ‘Blue Tit’ with its usual (pre) autumn secondary flowering.

Magnolia ‘Wim Rutten’.

Magnolia ‘Apollo’ with a flower more or less identical to its spring showing.

Calocedrus macrolepis var. formosana is making good headway.

Magnolia ‘Antje Zandee’ flowering high up.

Acer cappadocicum ‘Aureum’ with striking secondary new growth.

Magnolia ‘Pink Pyramid’ with 3 secondary flowers although it was only planted 2 years ago. A vivid red colour which the slugs have enjoyed.

Crataegus chlorosarca with its first ripe berries.

Magnolia ‘Diana’ is only 2 years from planting as well.

2023 – CHW
A wonderful array of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ at Newbiggin House.

Tilia henryana ‘Arnold Select’ had been looking sickly but now doing well.

Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ and Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’ and Hydrangea paniculata ‘Skyfall’.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’ and Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’.

Team photo on a wet day!

2022 – CHW

Nothofagus antarctica is developing interesting bark after 30 years growth. The beech like seed heads have shrivelled away to nothing in the heat and contain no seed at all.

Rosa ‘Handel’ with a secondary full out flower as dusk falls.

Viburnum plicatum ‘Lanarth’ struggling in the drought with shrivelled leaves.

Symphoricarpos albus with flowers and berries together.

2021 – CHW
An elderly Lithocarpus edulis in flower in Old Park.

Rhododendron emarginatum in flower in Old Park.

2020 – CHW
The removal of one fallen record tree this week – Pinus pinaster (25m tall, diameter of 125cm and girth of 392cm) as measured in 2006 prompted me to look at the next door record tree.

This is Prunus perulata (which had also been called Prunus pilosiuscala and I read a further renaming in a recent Tree Register article) which was covered in fruits as you can see. These were quite bitter to taste but Asia might collect a few in a week or so as this is a rare cherry species well worth growing in quantity.

Styrax japonicus ‘Snow Cone’ blew over in last night’s gale. As you can see (and as recorded in this diary) a year or so ago a roe buck used its horns to nearly ringbark the trunk. This is the outcome. I think the shooting from the base is from below the graft.

Magnolia ‘Yakeo’ making an even better show than 10 days ago.

Cotoneaster hualiensis has a good show of berries again although our second plant died.

Prunus laurocerasus is not something one often notices berries on but here they are as juicy as you like and being eaten by pheasants on the ground.

Secondary flowers today on Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’. We saw this yesterday in the nursery.

First secondary flowers on Rhododendron ‘Blue Tit’.

2019 – CHW
A trip to see what has appeared in the last week in which I have been away.Hypericum lancasteri full out as a 6x6ft clump (three plants). Superb plant.

Another branch blown out on our Catalpa bignoniodes (as so often).

This Hydrangea villosa half died last summer in the drought. It has now blown over onto the drive but we saw unusual suckering new growths from the roots three months ago in this diary and these remain in the ground. Indeed they are now well established.

Black seeds now forming on Meliosma oldhamii as we had hoped.

Fallen flowers on the ground from Rhododendron ‘Polar Bear’ by Georges Hut.

Another flower out on Magnolia kwangtungensis (Manglietia moto) with two buds still to come out a bit lower down the tree. The first flower to open was around 1st July and the last may well be 10th August. In bud since 1st June.

2018 – CHW
Surprising what you can find in a hedgerow in Yorkshire in late August.A fine crop of nearly ripe sloes this year on the Prunus spinosa. A bumper crop for sloe gin makers.

Hazelnuts (Corylus avellana) nearly ripe rather early in this dry summer but already being attacked by grey squirrels.

Conkers well-formed already too (Aesculus hippocastanum) although a small crop after the drought.

A well-formed trunk on Nothofagus antarctica and beech seeds already formed.

Winged seeds on Acer platanoides (Norway maple) in profusion.

Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) laden with seeds for the thrushes and other winter migrant birds.

Sorbus aucuparia (mountain ash) with perhaps the finest crop of all.

And of course Quercus robar (English oak).

Sorbus intermedia fruits not yet coloured up like S. aucuparia.

2016 – CHW
A brief respite in the Green Hut at Garrigill during torrential wind and rain that led to the abandonment of the day by 2pm. The rain was so heavy that those without jackets were drenched in the few paces to the cars. Lizzie is wearing her all weather riding coat and not drinking the gin although this may not be so accurate looking at Trevor!

2015 – CHW
In my absence and lots of rain the seeds on the Lithocarpus pachyphyllus have really begun to swell. Amid the seed clusters you can now see one or two seeds swelling much more than the others. These larger seeds will be the only ones to be big enough to be viable and germinate normally in two years time.

About six weeks ago I saw a second inflorescence on twigs above the already forming acorn clusters. I have now found one low down enough to photograph properly. On lithocarpus the male flower spikes point upwards while the female flower spikes hang down. Still cannot work out why there is a second flowering?

1981 – FJW
Philip Tregunna 50 years old today.
1959 – FJW
Last of corn and straw safely carried in.

1944 – CW
Eucryphia pinnatifolia over some days. Nymansii a week past its best and the Auklandii Garden Cordifolia looks well from front door. Rho auriculatum going over but many of the white hybrids at their best. Magnolia delavayi, grandiflora and grandiflora var Goliath all good. A few Parviflora left. Odd out of season flowers on several deciduous Magnolias as the seedling from Denudata nearest N.E corner of Tin Garden. Fine till 2 days ago. Now a lot of rain and thunder right in the middle of carrying corn. Most things done fairly well.

The Garden Diary

A Cornish garden diary from Caerhays Estate over 100 years

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