18th July | The Garden Diary

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CONTRIBUTORS:

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2024 – CHW

A check up of how things look mainly on the drive now that all the grass here has been cut.

Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki with a good show of flowers for the first time. This quick growing, dense, and large leaved form of V. odoratissimum has only had a single previous flower that I have seen. André Gayraud’s book on Viburnum argues that V. awabuki is a separate species in its own right.

Cornus ‘Gloria Birkett’ below Red Linney (and next to Sorbus folgneri ‘Emiel’ ) is a cross between C. capitata and C. kousa as you can readily see here.

Hydrangea aspera ‘Macrophylla’ just coming out.

Davidia involucrata ‘Sonoma’ struggling slightly but only planted in the spring.

Hydrangea ‘Taube’ just colouring up.

As is Hydrangea ‘Fireworks’.

Robinia x slavinii ‘Hillieri’ is finally dead. The shoots at the base are from a nearby elm tree. This split out a few years ago as Robinia so often do. The reshooting would probably have been fine but for the 2 years of droughts.

Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ and Hydrangea ‘Generale Vicomtesse de Vibraye’ look good together.

2023 – CHW

A marvellous garden hidden away at the back of Seaview.

Palms and Dasylirion.

A fine Tertapanax papyrifer ‘Rex’.

Acer palmatum ‘Crippsii’ is not common at all.

A fine Parrotia persica

Rather more than a wild flower meadow and absolutely stunning!

Better and better – a very carefully though through planting plan to give a long flowering season.

Plenty of variation in the planting.

I do not know what this plant with clover flowers is?

Agave angustifolia.

Black tomatoes.

A perfect row of Olive trees.

2022 – CHW
Last year’s female seed cone on Araucaria bidwillii gets ever larger but remains green. It now is so huge that it drags the twig down.

Hoheria ‘Glory of Amlwch’ full out and beautiful in Kennel Close.

Secondary new growth on Liquidamber acalycina again a stand out bronze-purple-red.

Secondary new growth on Betula fansipanensis’ also a pleasant bronze at first.

A secondary flower on Magnolia ‘Sweet Sixteen’.

The Rhododendron ‘Harrow Hybrids on Horel Cart Road from above.

In the Main quarry Rhododendron fortunei ssp discolor is making a good show. Perhaps a little later than usual.

2021 – CHW
A nursery catchup visit today.

The new seed propagation house is taking shape.

As is the cutting preparation shed by the mist houses.

The old tree lines being cleared to make way for new water tanks and water storage.

The new multi span now all levelled after the Guernsey order has gone. We intend to fill this with herbaceous plants once autumn sets in rather than leaving them to overwinter outside.

The acers have just arrived from the New Zealand autumn as bare root plants. We have always had to pay import duty on these shipments.

A quick visit to Roseland House garden to buy a few unusual greenhouse climbers for our show tunnel. There I find the climbing herbaceous plant Malvastrum lateritium.

I also see Osmanthus yunnanensis in the garden with berries forming.

Lilium regale and an unknown dwarf holly with a crinkly and barbed leaf edge.

Two days on and the cut flower of Manglietia insignis is about over.

2020 – CHW
The flowers from Serena’s wedding still look good at the front door.

A day looking at more unusual hydrangeas but I get distracted by the clump of young new Podocarpus by the top lodge.

Two quite different forms of Hydrangea aspera subsp. sargentiana (as we have to call them now) outside the front gates.The larger flowering form.

And the smaller, pinker form which I dare say should have some additional name.

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snowflake’ with its double sets of flower bracts above Red Linney. A sole survivor from a clump of three planted in 2009.

Podocarpus ‘Chameleon’ is a new one in the National Collection given to us in 2017. Looks startling at this time of the year and is well worth propagating.

Podocarpus ‘Chocolate Box’ is a rockery plant really. Two casualties out of five planted.

Podocarpus ‘Red Embers’ doing little red or emberish at this stage in the year.

Podocarpus ‘Green Queen’ is another new one but very ‘plain’ indeed! Quite long and vigorous new growth though.

Podocarpus ‘Jill’

Podocarpus x ‘Spring Sunshine’ is trying to become a small and rather floppy tree.

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Burgundy’ – huge clump by the top lodge but not that much flower except at the edges. Planted 2009 as a clump of three.

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Pee Wee’ which is a spreading variety which does not grow tall like ‘Burgundy’. Planted in 2005 below Slip Rail.

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snow Queen’ above the greenhouse has made a much larger plant.

2019 – CHW
The RHS have just given AGMs to 17 or 19 new varieties of Agapanthus. Here are a few new names to me from Eddington House Nursery. No idea if any of these are on the list? Raining hard so a short visit.Agapanthus ‘Double Diamond’ – squat growing and double white flowers

Agapanthus ‘Charlotte’

Agapanthus ‘Moonlight Star’

Agapanthus ‘Little Dutch White’

An interesting new low growing Sedum spurium “Dragon’s Blood”. Very good!

Bought an Acacia boormanii to try at Caerhays. Upright pointed light blue foliage. Not listed in Hillier’s so likely to be rather tender I fear.

2018 – CHW
A visit to view the garden at Seagrove House which had been open to the public on behalf of the NCCPG last Sunday. A formal and newly landscaped back garden and a traditional village front garden.

A rather special double orange hemerocallis. The owner no idea of its name.

Then on to Busy Bee Garden Centre which was much improved after a major revamp of the outdoor plant display area. New plants seen were:Digitalis ‘Cherry Brandy’ – growing to about 18’’ in a pot.

Scabiosa ‘Warburton’s Pink Mist’ was attractive and a candidate for next year’s catalogue.

Mandevilla ‘Sundavill’ had leaves like Mandevilla ‘Alice du Pont’ but was a creamy yellow in flower. I cannot locate this in any reference books.

Salvia ‘Amistad’ was a good tall growing form with dark flowers. As good as ‘Love and Wishes’ perhaps?

2017 – CHW
A garden tour with some South Africans who live in the UK for painfully obvious reasons.A plant of Rhododendron sinonuttallii is out and nearly over below Slip Rail. Our other plants finished flowering five to six weeks ago. The huge plant which used to live in the Burncoose conservatory was normally out in late July. Come to think of it these flowers are much larger than those which flowered earlier. Is Rhododendron nuttallii different from Rh. sinonuttallii? I guess this rather proves it!

In the Main Quarry Rhododendron fortunei subsp discolor is now full out and wonderfully scented (it used to be just Rhododendron discolor). There are green markings within the flowers.

So here is a fourth large clump of rhododendrons producing a fine scented spectacle in mid July. Discolor, auriculatum, ‘Polar Bear’ and the ‘Harrow Hybrids’. Nothing to see in July of course!

I had been wondering why there was no sign yet this year of the Tropaeolum speciosum in the Camellia sasanqua outside the back yard. The seedlings are popping up under it but have yet to find any braches low enough to twine up. Before long they will.

2016 – CHW

Twitter followers very excited by the listing of Porthluney Beach as a nudist beach (article from westbriton.co.uk), which is not really what we want! A family beach for children to enjoy themselves without jet skis, outboard motors or boats. The nudist beach is actually below the Lookout between Porthluney and Portholland coves and you can only get there down the cliff using a rope. Nudists would do well to keep their clothes on for this bit as the nettles and brambles are bad here.Jaimie and Michael have finished the second grass cut in Kennel Close.

The keepers are unloading crates of pheasant poults (3,000) for the rookery pen in a heatwave.

2015 – CHW

Styrax serrulatus is just going over now having been well out for three or more weeks. Planted in 1991 it is now 12 feet tall and as much across. Just as floriferous as Styrax japonicus and rather more so than Styrax hemsleyanus or Styrax wilsonii who hide their flowers in the foliage.

The best thing in the garden today is Rhododendron sinonuttallii. One of three separate clumps which all flower very late but by no means all at the same time. This group were planted by the Rhododendron megacalyx which have now died of old age and need replacing.

1993 – FJW
Only dry spell has been Wimbledon (21st June – 4th July). Since then very wet.

1971 – FJW
Charles cut the big bramble in the Drive Azalea – avoided like the plague by us all for decades.

1921 – JCW
Perhaps there are 500 flowers on the Romneya coulteri. There is not much else. It is very hot and dry and is about the record.

1916 – JCW
The first Lapageria is open, and the last Azalea viscosum, I have crossed it with Lanarth azalea.

1897 – JCW
I saw the first cyclamen in flower.