2024 – CHW
Cornus oblonga has bronzy new growth as well.

The old original Catalpa bungei ‘Duclouxii Group’, as we are now supposed to call Catalpa duclouxii, is flowering away better than I have ever seen it but the flowers are nowhere near as good or heavily marked as our other younger plant, which fell over, or the one I admire at Ventnor above their Tropical House.

Despite the relatively mild and storm free weather Maackia chinensis has collapsed and split in half.

Chionanthus virginicus will now get much more light and should start performing rather better. It was planted 33 years ago and has hardly flowered or grown much.

Idesia polycarpa in full flower.

Still plenty of final tail end flowers on Berberis wilsoniae. Very late for this to still be in flower.

Still a few decent flowers on Magnolia ‘Genie’ as we near July.

This was once, 35 years ago, the stump of a Pinus radiata. Seedlings from Rhododendron ‘Polar Bear’ grew up around it and look at it today.

2023 – CHW

Magnolia/ Manglietia kwangtungensis/ moto with its buds swelling and splitting.

Magnolia virginiana ‘Northern Belle’ has its first couple of buds two years on from planting.

Acer sikkimense (WJC 13674) with wonderful secondary new growth.

This is labelled Magnolia crassifolia (MWJ 13163) which does not appear to exist in the reference book so some cock up here somewhere? First flowering with 6 or so flowers of which only one still on the tree (+ 1 bud). Again much like M. insignis although the leaves are a bit different.

Tilia kiusiana about to flower.

Cornus kousa ‘Milky Way’ nearly over.

I was very rude last year about Hydrangea serrata ‘Crug Cobalt’. Now I take it all back. Nice thing and well worth Asia propagating.

Only one of the four Hydrangea ‘Runaway Bride’ planted in 2021 has survived. Too dry a spot for them but a fantastic hydrangea none the less.

The Camellia x williamsii ‘Mary Jobson’ is shooting well after its haircut despite the drought.

2022 – CHW

A visit to the Isle of Wight Grain Storage Ltd near Cowes. The farmer owned cooperative company handles circa 20,000 tonnes of wheat/oats/barley/rape grown on the island and has just invested £2.5m in new grain drying and milling equipment. The two biodigesters on the island which need feed (grass / whole crop) sourced locally have greatly reduced the amount of arable crops grown in recent years. The new milling allows poultry, beef, diary and pig farmers to purchase processed animal feeds made on the island rather than importing from the mainland. Vessels capable of loading 3,000 tonnes of grain can moor up and be loaded beside the storage facility.

Storage tanks old and new.

The new grain drier.

This machine dry cools the grain tanks without the need to continuously blow air through the grain.

Grain loaded on vessels from the adjacent gravel works jetty.

The new milling equipment and the end products.

Solar panels were providing 50% of the electricity needed to run the site today.

Sir William Caws stands below an ancient crane in Cowes on the site of a former ship building factory where he worked as a boy in the late 1950s. Jumping into the water from the top of the crane (at high tide) at the end of a day’s work was apparently normal. A tall story indeed!

2021 – CHW
A bit of a magnolia hunt today.The pink form of Rhododendron ‘Polar Bear’ just showing.

Manglietia insignis just out and perfect today but loads of bud to come.

Magnolia sapaensis nearly out. Note the little leaflets at the tip of most (but not all) buds which is an unusual (unique?) characteristic of this species.

Pterostyrax hispida at its absolute best. I normally fail to spot this.

High up one of the younger Magnolia dealbatas is out. The others not quite.

Clethra fabri (FMWJ 13037) with spectacular foliage at Donkey Shoe.

Rhododendron fortunei subsp. discolor in the main quarry full out.

The best of the surviving forms of Rhododendron ‘Royal Flush’ on Burns Bank. Definitely one for Asia to propagate!

The last flowering before death I expect of the original Styrax japonicus on Burns Bank.

Tail end flowers on the playhouse wisteria or perhaps secondary ones?