14th December | The Garden Diary

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CONTRIBUTORS:

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2023 – CHW (images to follow)

2022 – CHW

The cold snap continues. The Back Yard is a sheet of ice. Freezing rain showers. Roads unsafe.

Rhododendron augustinii with a few secondary flowers by Tin Garden.#

At the top of the garden little frost damage yet. Camellia x williamsii ‘J.C. Williams’ with minor damage.

Fuchsia hatschbachii still in full flower in Tin Garden.

A now virtually leafless Kennel Close.

Except for Carpinus caroliniana.

Sprayed out circles for rhododendron plantings in Kennel Close in early spring.

Camellia japonica ‘Takanini’ now full out.

2021 – CHW
Cleaning out the roof gutters which run through the roof space over the castle is not a pleasant or easy job. They can readily become blocked by a dead bird or large magnolia leaves. Here is Jaimie actually in the roof space with the new inspection covers off rodding the roof gutters to remove silt and house martin droppings accumulated over the summer. Prior to the new leadwork these inspection covers did not exist.

The view over the battlements from the castle roof.

2020 – CHW
A small smattering of rather unimpressive flowers on Osmanthus x fortunei which I have been waiting to catch. Some on the stems and a few as terminal clusters.

Araucaria bidwillii with copious new growth emerging. This tree is growing very rapidly – 14 years or so from planting.

Plenty of flower bud clusters on Acacia baileyana but no colour as yet.

Magnolia ‘Todd’s Fortyniner’ was showing colour by Christmas in the last two years and out in late January. Here it still has some leaves and the buds look still too small to surprise us again.

First rather pale and insipid flowers on Rhododendron ‘Christmas Cheer’. On time, for once; unlike in the last couple of seasons.

2019 – CHW
Camellia x hiemalis ‘Dazzler’ just coming out outside the front gate. A really good red sasanqua cross.

The record tree Camellia x williamsii which is not named is just out at the very top. Say 30ft up. Quite a bit later into flower than many of the other x williamsii camellias viewed in the last two or three weeks.

2018 – CHW
A few new plants at Burncoose today.Taxus baccata ‘Repens Aurea’ is a new golden yew. A new introduction for next year’s catalogue and website I guess.

Juniperus pingii ‘Hulsdonk Yellow’ – another new one for next year which I may have photographed already. Not very yellow at all at this time of the year.

I am not sure I have seen better coloured Microbiota decussata. At first glance the plant appears completely dried up and brown but this is simply its winter plumage.

Heucherella ‘Solar Eclipse’ may not be looking its best but you can still see why it has this name in a mild December.

I have never really taken in the spectacular autumn colour on the deciduous Eucryphia glutinosa but these were looking quite spectacular today. The edges of the leaves remain green to dark green while the centres of the leaves are red and yellow.

2017 – CHW
Correas in full flower for Christmas. What great plants these are for the greenhouse.Correa ‘Marians Marvel’ looking pristine.

Correa backhouseana just out.

Correa harrisii just starting to fade.

Ceanothus ‘Dark Star’ with flowers.

The magnolia tunnel all tidied and re-potted. See the before and after!

Solarium jasminum ‘Album’ still with flower in a tunnel.

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’ just out. Other varieties still to show colour.

Schizostylis coccinea ‘Major’ still with plenty of flower (hesperantha now of course!).

Erica x darleyensis ‘White Perfection’ full out for Chrismas.

Erica x darleyensis ‘Kramers Red’ likewise.

2016 – CHW
Camellia x williamsii ‘J C Williams’ just out through the arch. A little late this year.

The elderly clump of Rhododendron mucronulatum is also out nearby. About its usual timing.

2015 – CHW

Big tidy up in the Auklandii Garden underway with tree pruning, camellia pollarding and removal of deads. The large yew has been pollarded too, about 20 years since I last remember it being done. Lots more light for other things to grow better without letting in the wind.

1934 – JCW
I saw two Camellia speciosa buds showing flowers. So far no frost, no big wind smash, but it has been very rude weather.

1933 – JCW
Just the hardest frost I can remember, I expect all the fuchsias are dead and the flower buds in all our soft rhodo’s.

1932 – JCW
Erica darleyense is starting to open, had a record smash for one tree’s work on the Engine House nursery.

1926 – JCW
No Erica darleyense yet. Hamamelis mollis ¼ open, the rest much as in 1922, the Maddeni hybrid in particular.

1922 – JCW
Erica darleyense, Berberis polyantha, Cotoneaster salicifolia are the best things and a nice lot of flower on one. R cyanocarpum and one Maddeni x Roylei, this last has been out for six weeks.

1919 – JCW
Some Hamamelis is in full flower. Clematis cirrhosa is open well.