19th February 1897 – 2020 | The Garden Diary

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2020 – CHW
Time to enjoy the first magnolias as I hope our early visitors are.Magnolia ‘F J Williams’ just coming out.

The yellow form of Magnolia campbellii full out.

Magnolia campbellii at its best.

Rhododendron ‘Maisie’

Magnolia campbellii ‘Darjeeling’ just out.

Magnolia ‘Aurora’ in Kennel Close (planted 2010).

Magnolia mollocomata ‘Werrington’ (planted 2012).

First flower on Magnolia ‘Betty Jessel’.

Buds opening on Magnolia ‘Ian’s Red’.

The start of Magnolia ‘Bishop Peter’.

The New Zealand form of Magnolia ‘Lanarth’ from a distance.

2019 – CHW
More magnolias rushing out in this perilously early season.Magnolia ‘Susanna van Veen’ is said to be the New Zealand version of Magnolia ‘Caerhays Belle’. Compare for yourself! Colour and size of flower come into it.

Magnolia ‘Caerhays Belle’

Magnolia ‘Ians Red’ nearly out.

Magnolia ‘Shirraz’ out much earlier than usual in three places in the garden.

A young Magnolia ‘Caerhays Belle’ with three bud casings rather than the usual two.

Magnolia ‘Philip Tregunna’ showing colour in the mist.

Magnolia campbellii from afar in the mizzle.

2018 – CHW
Between meetings a quick check on the state of play with the first decent magnolia flowers. They are still far from decent as yet!Erica arborea are a splendid show all over and quite untouched by the frost / cold wind earlier this week.

The Magnolia mollicomata seedling through the arch has moved on a bit with the odd flower blown open and very pale in colour with some browning.

A young Camellia ‘Adolphe Audusson’ with first flowers above the cash point.

A battered Camellia ‘China Doll’ as well with just a single flower.

The (record tree) 1913 Magnolia campbellii has some colour and the odd pale flower blown open lower down. A better colour peeping out at the top of the tree. For ‘spring to have sprung’ we need 50 flowers out on our M. campbellii. Still a week to 10 days off I suspect and in line with last year. Tregothnan’s campbellii has been blown away. Trewidden’s was nice a week ago. I will try and see Trewithen’s tomorrow after the Great Gardens meeting.

Camellia reticulata ‘Captain Rawes’ (dark Tregullow form) is now full out.

Bluebells (English!) now 12in or so out of the ground in the Auklandii Garden.

Two years since this rare Chilean conifer was planted out – Pilgerodendron uniferum. The structure of the needles or leaves is most intricate and attractive.

New signage on the new shop. New garden guide this year and the Isla Rose Plantation has changed the different routes a bit.

A new advertorial sign for The Vean and our holiday lets too with (at last) a proper location map.

First load of plants being set up in the plant sales area.

These few are novelties / new plants at Burncoose which we have snaffled to plant out when it finally dries up enough to start.

The Sarcocca hookeriana var digyna by the car park is a huge clump now in full flower. Still in full flower actually as I pictured it out at least three weeks ago.

Western Power are (very slowly) building a new shed to cover in the new transformer which supplies power to the castle. These three are at least a week into the job and the slate roof is still to do. Hope their risk assessments are all up to date!

Another lot of ‘you are here’ sign maps for around the gardens.

What a lot of new signage for this year to go with all the 170 new record tree signs which Karol and I plan to finish putting out before the end of the weekend.

2017 – CHW
Serena spent the day with two photographers and the features director of The Field getting shooting pictures for her forthcoming article which she has written. As a Purdey’s ambassador she has the full Purdey shooting kit and looks unbelievably smart. Will she be the cover girl for the May edition? She has her two dogs with her and Billy plus Nuttie go too which I fear may not have been that helpful.Quite a week for filming and publicity immediately prior to opening on Monday. ‘Salvage Hunters’ is viewed by two million people so we will see what this does to visitor numbers in due course!

2016 – CHW
BBC Spotlight TV news was not too bad last night and Michael was good but, as expected, the cameraman did his utmost NOT to show any magnolia flowers in the main clips. Better not say any more or suggest how he might do his job better!An hour with Asia in the greenhouse to show her the old fashioned way of planting magnolia seeds, 40 to a box, in wooden boxes. Very simple and a much easier way to grow on hundreds of seedlings for grafting which we need. Everything in the greenhouse needs some spring warmth to get going.Phil Knuckey and the Burncoose landscapers are trimming and pruning around The Vean. Brambles still to do and they will not finish today. All looking spring cleaned now.The Environment Agency contractors have started to build the new sluice gate in Penvergate and the lake is full of more herring gulls that I have ever seen. Swans, sheep and seagulls!

Now raining AGAIN and another wet weekend in prospect but no more frost we all hope.Magnolia ‘Iolanthe’ on the drive is showing colour absurdly early as this is a late April New Zealander normally.

Then we have a few really nice camellias towards the Top Lodge:

‘Desire’

‘Mary-Phoebe Taylor’

‘Spring Festival’

Opposite them is an ancient clump of Leujocum aestivum already in flower. The ‘summer snowflake’ and a form of snowdrop normally out in April or May. Bonkers again!

The new steel extension to the beach café is just up with its new cover but no sides as yet. It will be a huge improvement but too wet now for photographs.Karol has ‘done’ 175 missing website pictures found on his database with 125 more to go by Sunday. The total number of missing pictures on the Burncoose website should now be around 300 with 15,700 present and correct (four per plant online). It has taken nine years to get even close to a full set of good pictures of the plant in flower, leaf, pot, garden etc. We have not pinched anyone else’s so woe betide anyone caught pinching our copyright.

Karol has taken some nice new pictures of the Nash arch on a fine day which now dominates the car park and Porthluney cove. Visitors are in for a pleasant surprise.

The plant labels go out all over the garden for Monday’s opening.So a great deal is going on with many improvements coming to fruition on this dismal misty wet day. Roll on spring if it is not already here?

1994 – FJW
T Hudson seeds arrived.

1961 – FJW
Early year – Rhodo’s Grande – Sutch x Arboreum – Golden Oriole – R Admiral – well and truly open. Trewidden grafted Grande looking superb. Flower buds on Macabeanum. Mary Williams full out but C noblissima very late. Colour on G.B’s campbellii.

1958 – FJW
Crossbill coming. Well out are Rhodo praecox, ciliatums, irroratum, arboreums, 2 G. Oriole. Prunus pissardi also good.

1945 – CW
Rhodo barbatum, lutescens, ririei, also Blood Reds and Sutchuenense hybrids out, Leucaspis and both Moupinense and its hybrids. I picked 12 different red cups and clear yellows in Tin Garden. No magnolias showing colour. Single Camellias very good, Speciosa at its best.

1933 – JCW
No Magnolias yet. Rho lutescens should be very good shortly, the first Narcissus cyclamineus by this window shows colour.

1932 – JCW
No sign of a Magnolia anywhere. E darleyense V.G.

1921 – JCW
About 20 species of Rhodo show bloom, some Prunus conradinae very good, 2 dead with silverleaf. The heaths are nice, E darleyense has been very good since December. Camellia speciosa shows promise of being very nice, one bloom each on Magnolia kobus and Magnolia denudata.

1911 – JCW
Wilsons conifers etc soon here, and last week at Werrington.

1908 – JCW
The 1899 things are not open, some nice Arboreums are out. Anenome blanda is nice.

1899 – JCW
No reticulata, no C.J.B, or Cernuus, or Horsfieldi etc but Tenby, H Irving and Caerhays a good lot.

1898 – JCW
Many reticulata, picked some C J Backhouse, Cernuus at its best, some Horsfieldi out and a Sir Watkin. Jacko just breaks ground, Weardale only lately, nearly all Tenby and H Irving open, many Pallidus and Praecox.