Cattle back in the water meadows after the 1st August.

The six remaining cygnets are growing although we still do not know what happened to the cob.

Another clump of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’ shrivelling up in the heat.

Rhododendron suoilenhense has dropped its old leaves and the new growth struggles despite watering. Not much hope of survival here long term.

This group and their new growth have picked up with water but they are younger plants in more shade.

A reshooting Camellia is twisting & flaccid.

Another clump of Rhododendron ‘Polar Bear’ with flopped flowers and dropping leaves.

An already dead Rhododendron oldhamii outside the front gate in shade.

2025 – CHW

In the seed propagating greenhouse at Burncoose.

Podocarpus henkelii seedlings.

Gevuina avellana seedlings.

Meliosma flexuosa seedlings.

Quercus phellos seedlings.

Photinia davidiana seedlings.

Cattle back grazing in front of the castle.

Our first plant of Mallotus japonicus now has ifs flowers out and I can confirm that these are male flowers on a male tree.

Our second plant of Mallotus japonicus has, I believe, female flowers.

I have always read that Mallotus japonicus has root suckers. Here is the first evidence.

Carpinus pubescens – pictures needed for the Carpinus article.

2024 – CHW
Spiders webs in the mist.

Fruits forming on Sorbus eleonorae.

The hedgerows now get cut rather later in the year and visitors can enjoy the displays of honeysuckles.

Clethra monostachya with smaller flowers than for the last two years.

Purple seed heads and Dipteronia sinensis.

Escallonia resinosa was a gift from Windsor Great Park.

Maackia hupehensis with a good show of flowers this year.

Castle Wood grass cutting finished. Just the completion of Old Park to go now. As you can see its well underway.

2022 – CHW

The newly planted out Lyonia ligustrina is surviving the drought.

Very different in leaf to Lyonia ovalfolium.

Dichroa guizhou flowering here for the first time.

Hydrangea serrata ‘Mount’ Also nearly over.

Huge flower on the Melianthus villosus.

We know these seeds are not worth growing on the promiscuous Acer carpinifolium from the Acer society visit.

Sitting in the bath I wondered if this plant was actually Meliosma dumicola? The reality is that it is Daphniphyllum glaucescens which does not yet feature on the IDS website.

2021 – CHW
A wonderful roadside triangle of betony or Betonica officinalis (formerly Stachys officinalis) under a signpost near Nancor Farm on the road to Carwinnick. Tarmac on three sides and, apart from a couple of knapweed, nothing else growing on this small area. There is betony in fairly nearby hedges but this lot has shown up this year because of no grass cutting at all. Long may it continue!

Time to get the autumn/spring rare plant orders for Caerhays into the pipeline before the European nurseries produce their autumn availability lists. Lunaplant in Germany promise a delivery of a number of their new magnolia hybrids bred by Michael Gottschalk (and others) which we had identified and talked about in the spring. A notable magnolia breeder but not a large nursery. A well-known Belgian wholesale nursery declined our £20k spring order due to Brexit. Will they relent now, as most big European nurseries have already done, and include our Caerhays order for a new collection of Celtis and Zanthoxylum species with the Burncoose order? Two years ago we brought in 20+ new species of cotoneaster and, last autumn, we added a dozen more to the collection of Crataegus species from all around the world. These have done well and are ready to plant out in one spot this autumn. The Cotoneasters and Crataegus are well photographed in this diary.

I thought I would try to obtain a few more very obscure genera:
Campytoptris macrocarpaDichotomanthes tristaniicarpa

Mediago strasseri

Ostryopsis davidiana

Phoebe bournei

These are generally dull shrubs with boring flowers but of considerable botanical rarity and exactly what we should be growing here to entertain, confuse and educate. Do not worry I had to look all of them up as well!