Syringa pekinensis ‘Yellow Fragrance’ not, as yet, looking very yellow (apart from the leaves).
Aesculus californica now nearly out and smelling gorgeous.
Keteleeria davidiana, which looked so sick after planting, now with good new growth and potential for cuttings.
Eucalyptus simonosii now full out all over the 30ft tall tree. Will it set seed? A superb tree with the most intricate pompom flowers as you see here.
Flowers just out on Liriodendron chinense at Slip Rail. No flowers out yet on L. tulipifera or the golden variegated form – both on the drive.
Attractive new growth on Lindera triloba.
Styrax japonicus from Taehuksando (BSWJ 14182) below Tin Garden. Superb large flowers but not that different to ‘Emerald Pagoda’.
Rhododendron ‘Tally Ho’ full out in the sun.
One of my mother’s Christmas azaleas planted out successfully years ago. A florist’s potful originally and now a half decent plant on Rookery Path.
Camellia ‘Grace Arbritton’ still with decent flowers below Rookery Path.
Euonymus moupinensis with its small reddish flowers that appear to be growing from the centre of the leaves. They actually have stalks back to the base of the leaves but unusual and peculiar.
Last flowers fading out on a 1980s planted Rhododendron yakushimanum in the Auklandii Garden. Only 4-5ft tall even now.
2021 – CHW
The G7 has brought lots of covid to Cornwall I am told. Two hundred police or security billeted on a specially chartered cruise ship in Falmouth harbour have got it so lots of Falmouth shops have to shut. Reportedly there were several thousand journalists camped out in the car park beside the Falmouth Maritime Museum. Once they spread back around the world the Indian variant of covid will indeed be everyone’s!
Syringa yunnanensis flowering away at full strength for the first time.
A day which threatens more good rain.I have been meaning to photograph the leaves (and any seed heads) on our relatively young collection of Carpinus to make it easier to compare and recognise them. There are very few (if any) hornbeams in our native woodlands apart from those I have planted as along the road to Five Turnings and a good one below the fernery. Nor do I find any evidence of Carpinus species growing here when the first tree measuring of original wild collected Chinese species in 1964 took place. So this is a new genus for us to get to grips with and there are many new species which have been introduced in the last 30 to 40 years.Quite a long (and boring) list but perhaps a useful guide for the future as most of them are still too young to produce the fruiting catkins which are one of their best features.
Carpinus laxiflora is well away on Sinogrande Walk but not yet seeding.
The species listed below are all in Kennel Close.
A young and drought affected Carpinus omeiensis, the Mt Omei hornbeam.
The Carpinus above Burns Bank is a second Carpinus laxiflora which is doing well at 12-15ft.There are two other young and weeping Carpinus in Kennel Close with no label which need identifying.
Carpinus betulus grows below the drive below the fernery. The roadside trees towards Five Turnings are mostly Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’.
I have yet to find Carpinus turczaninowii which I know we planted here quite a while ago. It may be what I thought were Zelkova by they borehole or below the tree fern on the main ride. I see we planted another in Area 6 in 2019 but have yet to find it so it may have died.
So we have around 16 to 18 different species and varieties currently.
Still to get (possibly from Roundabarrow) are Carpinus cordata, Carpinus coreana, Carpinus pubescens, Carpinus x schuschaensis and Carpinus viminea in Hillier’s and Carpinus londoniana, Carpinus monbeigiana which are also listed in New Trees.
We already have nearly all of the New Trees Carpinus listings.
2019 – CHW
One of the rhododendrons grown from seed supplied by Major Howell decades ago. Late flowering and with an attractive green ‘eye’ but small trusses. I think the Major may once have run the Rhododendron Society seed distribution.
The original clump of Camellia reticulata ‘Captain Rawes’, which looked nearly dead last summer, has put on a good crop of new growth and may not yet be a basket case.
Preparing for my styrax lecture tomorrow with a quick trip around. Most of the day at Burncoose.Rhododendron nuttallii now full out.
A trip to the vacant Rosevallon Farmhouse to view the necessary repairs. In the garden we find two surprises:Salix babylonica ‘Tortuosa’ growing on quite happily in the undergrowth with little wind protection. The contorted stems have combined to form a small tree. Unexpected in the middle of nowhere.
The front of Rosevallon Farmhouse facing south.
In London for the day – how The City and Moorgate, where I worked for 10 years, has changed. 21 Moorfields, the old Lazards concrete building, is half demolished and with it ‘The City Boat’ our favourite ‘watering hole’ on a Friday.2015 – CHW
The cornus hunt gathers pace:
This Cornus kousa had no name when planted in 1998. After consulting Mr Cappiello and Mr Shadow’s reference book I am none the wiser as no pictures in the book even faintly match it. Cornus kousa ‘Wolf Eyes’ has similar flowers but the Wolf has variegated foliage. Clearly a very good plant in a key spot and covered in bracts.
Cornus kousa ‘Windles Weeping’ has small flowers and looks a bit sick. It has not grown much since it was planted in 1991. The one at Burncoose gets more sun but is equally slow.
Cornus kousa ‘Milky Way’ – two tail end and slug eaten flowers which are very different in shape from those photographed some three to four weeks ago which had very pointed four sided bracts. The change in bract shape and colour as the flower matures makes naming cornus quite difficult. The US book lists scores of named kousa and florida clones. Far more than you ever see offered for sale in specialist Dutch nurseries. There will be plenty more cornus out soon!
1923 – JCW
Back from Scotland and much growth has been made, some nice seedling Azaleas about, PD’s big White is the best, some of ours are near it, our Pink promise well and there may be some good reds later.
1922 – JCW
Just back from Scotland. They are short of rain and most of the Azaleas are over, some nice white Arboreum hybrids make their first show. Evergreen Oaks have done well, Harrow hybrids are very nice.
1902 – JCW
Picked a lot of daff seed, hardly ripe, Sir Watkin, King A, Weardale, Jacko, Adreanna good, Azaleas nearly over. Am starting for London.
1897 – JCW
[?] foliosa out, I have picked all the daff seed except Recurvas.
Cornus Gloria Birkett is a kousa x nutalli hybrid that grows quite well in the UK, but isn’t very common. I saw one in RHS Wisley this week and was looking it up and came across your refernce.
The other Cornus kousa no name above looks rather like Madam Butterfly, a kousa variety that isn’t illustrated in the Capiello / Shadow reference book, but if you look it up there are 2 different varieties that share the same name, one of which looks like yours and I have small specimen in my garden.
Dear Tony
Thank you for your comment on my diary. Cornus ‘Gloria Birkett’ is full out today here but I have not photographed it again this year as I gave it such full coverage last year. Our plant was a gift from Windsor Great Park in about 1991 and is one of the outstanding performers here. I did photograph Cornus kousa ‘Madame Butterfly’ on the 5th June (http://thediary.caerhays.co.uk/june/5th-june/) and it does seem true to name looking in the reference books. I agree that some of them are a bit lightweight and do not have enough pictures but the Italian one is clearly the best. This is the same plant that I photographed and you saw in the diary on 14th June 2015 (http://thediary.caerhays.co.uk/june/14th-june/). Clearly I found the right planting records this year.
The trouble with cornus is that the bracts change so much during the flowering period that it is very difficult to identify some of them with any certainty. It is all quite fun researching them though.
Best wishes
Charles