Just a few flowers this year on the original (true) Magnolia ‘Lanarth’ which was hit by a tree and is now recovering above Crinodendron Hedge.

Magnolia sprengeri ‘Westonbirt’ is now full out beside the ‘Lanarth’.

Disanthus cercidifolius already in leaf.

The old Michelia doltsopa by George’s Hut just starting now.

Magnolia dawsoniana ‘Chindit’ was a gift from Harvey Stephens and the Savill Gardens. Now very good but is it really a form of dawsoniana?

Another of Jaimie’s new hybrids with just one flower (ever) so far but probably also begging registration. Magnolia sargentiana var. robusta x Magnolia sprengeri var. diva CROSSED WITH Magnolia campbellii var. mollicomata ‘Lanarth’.

Magnolia ‘Star Wars’ x M. ‘Volcano’ (Hornau) giving a good show. Is there now a proper registered name? Need to do some detective work.

Magnolia ‘Pickard’s Ruby’ x M. ‘J.C. Williams’.

Magnolia ‘Cleopatra’ x M. ‘J. C. Williams’ (Hang) planted in 2018. Quite good but is there now a proper name?

Magnolia campbellii ‘Wakehurst’ is really good today.

First flower out on Magnolia ‘Felix Jury’.

Rhododendron ‘Choremia’ coming to its best.

Magnolia ‘Shirazz’ splendid in several places in the garden.

A large unnamed seedling Magnolia below Hovel Cart Road is not worth a name but is certainly worth its place!

2023 – CHW

The Caerhays team install around 20 new bird boxes in the garden as part of the new children’s garden trail. I fear the squirrels will get to any occupants but there we are.

A full day at Burncoose plotting this year’s planting programme and picking out the plants from the nursery.

Cornus officinalis looking rather better in the nursery than the Cornus mas which we saw last week here in flower.

Rhododendron ‘Bric-a-Brac’ in a large clump on the Burncoose driveway.

Michelia macclurei is flowering better (and earlier) than ever before. A real rarity and easily the best thing in the Burncoose garden today (despite the magnolias all starting).

Camellia reticulata ‘Arch of Triumph’ just starting to flower properly 2-3 years from planting.

2022 – CHW
Magnolia campbellii ‘Sidbury’ in Old Park is just out while the plant in Penvergate is blown out and now over.

Another surprise first flowering of a third cross of Jaimie’s this year. Magnolia ‘Mr Julian’ crossed with Magnolia ‘Lanarth’. Wonderful colour on the first and only flower this year. I think we should name and register this as Magnolia ‘Leonora’ after my aunt who had her 80th birthday last Friday. Registration will have to wait a year or two until we get a full flush of flowers. (M. ‘Mr Julian’ is a cross between M. sargentiana var. robusta and M. sprengeri ‘Diva’.)

Placing out the 23 different Amelanchier species and varieties above the old dog kennels. Quite a collection to puzzle the experts in the future. Click here for the full list of what was planted out today.

The Old Park Magnolia ‘Vairano’ is now full out.

First very pale and poor flower on a young Magnolia sprengeri ‘Marwood Hill’ on the bank at Old Park.

Then on to the drive to catch up on what was out there today.

This is the large and as yet unnamed hybrid bred by Philip Tregunna. We always wonder if it is really unique enough to merit an attempt at registration but I fear we may have lost the crossing records for this plant. Very good today.

First ever flowers on a magnolia labelled ‘Mazara’. This may be a typo for ‘Mazeppa’ which is a synonym for Magnolia ‘Anne Rosse’ x Magnolia ‘Anne Rosse’ raised in Nova Scotia, Canada from seed collected by Philippe de Spoelberch in Belgium. The flowers look nothing like M. ‘Anne Rosse’.

The New Zealand bred Magnolia ‘Mount Pironga’ is now performing exceptionally well and a most lovely white.

Magnolia campbellii ‘Sidbury’ may be over but Magnolia campbellii ‘Lamellyn’ is only just now out on the drive.

The second (and inferior) seedling from the seedpod which produced Magnolia ‘Caerhays Splendour’ is now out on the drive. Smaller flowers but the same colour as Splendour. Quite a big show today.

First flowers showing on the Magnolia denudata ‘Forrest Pink’ which was smashed down by a tree a few years ago but has recovered.

The Magnolia campbellii Alba Group (seedling) on the drive is just starting. Impressive but not as large flowers as the one on the main ride.

Michelia ‘Fairy Blush’ is out earlier than ever at the far end of Old Park and doing well.

2021 – CHW
The view through the arch is developing nicely in the warmth.

The white form (pink in bud) of Rhododendron nobleanum is now full out.

The old and record Lindera communis has finally been cut back hard as most of the top was dead. Plenty of reshooting from the base.

Michelia doltsopa ‘Silver Cloud’ blown out early high up at 30ft+.

I have now finally got to grips with the naming of all the camellias planted in 1997 and 2002 where the ‘Red Admiral’ clump once stood before it expired.
Camellia ‘Lulu Belle’ is an excellent show.

Camellia ‘Pink Icicle’ is quite variable in shape but very floriferous.

Camellia ‘Chatsworth Belle’ which has a very intricate and precise flower which I rather like.

Camellia ‘Kick Off’ – again flowers variable and not that many of them.

Camellia ‘Spring Formal’ is a Nuccio introduction from 1986 which seems, with us, to be a sparse flowerer.

Rhododendron ‘Red Admiral’ – a clump I had forgotten by Georges Hut.

First colour on a magnolia opposite which is a robusta x sprengeri cross.

A rhododendron whose name I forgot just coming out. We showed this at Rosemoor in the last few years so Jaimie will know. Not on the plans but planted circa 2006/7.

Camellia reticulata ‘Miss Tulare’ is huge and excellent.

Suddenly out high up without us noticing is Rhododendron stenaulum (now Rhododendron moulmainense). I must have walked under this several times in the last week. Very floriferous this year after its pruning post the 2018 Beast.

Early leaf, as usual, on Acer mandshuricum below Tin Garden. A frost risk here. This looks little like the original 6-8ft A. mandshuricum that used to grow on the drive. There is a photo somewhere of DJW and I in our teens about the same height as the plant.

Flowers and seed cones on Cupressus tortulosa.

Magnolia ‘Hot Lips’ is now full out in Kennel Close and aptly named. An excellent hybrid not to be confused with ‘Hot Pants’.

Atherosperma moschatum is now a small tree above Rogers Quarry. Not huge amounts of flower but, those that are, are very scented. An Australian evergreen which can reach 100ft tall in the wilds of Tasmania.

Magnolia ‘F J Williams’ with its first decent flower out and plenty more buds to come above Crinodendron Hedge. Planted 2008.

Schefflera macrophylla in Forty Acres untouched by the cold wind.

2020 – CHW
A trip to Burncoose and some nice rhododendron combinations in the cash point:

praecox and ‘Bric-a-Brac’

praecox and ‘Christmas Cheer’

‘Ostara’ and cilpinense

‘Ostara’ and ‘Bric-a-Brac’

cilpinense and ‘Bric-a-Brac’

Magnolia campbellii ‘Darjeeling’ at the entrance to Burncoose Garden.

Huge flowers with white flecking on Camellia ‘Anticipation Variegated’ by Burncoose Lodge.

A good bit of laurel hedge cutting.

One of the two huge beech trees which fell into the old walled garden before Christmas.

Yet another beech in the old walled garden from the other direction. More to fell nearby too in order to make an exciting new planting area for next spring.

2019 – CHW
First colour showing on Magnolia ‘Genie’. The emerging buds are nearly black in colour and rival Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’ at this early stage.

Magnolia ‘Plum Pudding’ at its absolute best.

A young Magnolia ‘Caerhays Belle’ – breathtaking today in the sun.

Quercus stenophylloides with new growth already apparent on this Taiwanese species which may well be a bit borderline hardy as a result.

2018 – CHW
Storm Emma has produced the harshest east wind gale overnight and today that I have ever experienced at Caerhays in my lifetime. Stormforce 7 or more? It is less frozen underfoot but the wind chill factor is still about -9C (or so the dear old BBC says). The gardens remain shut to the public and very few staff have made it in to Burncoose or Caerhays. The first report of major roof damage at Caerhays Barton Farmhouse but nothing can be done in these conditions. More serious damage by close of play today.It is unsafe to go into the garden and the drive is certainly a battlefield of small twigs and branches. I am itching to see the extent of the cold damage to tender plants like michelias or much of the new stuff from China/Vietnam via Crug Farm and Tom Hudson. It may well be as bad as 1963 which I can just remember. Cold and still then rather than a week or more of freezing east winds.The annual nursery auction sale tomorrow has been cancelled. Major frozen/burst pipe issues at Burncoose who seem not to have drained the system a week ago. (No comment!)

Snowdrifts remain but the wind has blown most of the snow off west facing fields. First lamb births imminent. I wonder if the nets over the pheasant laying pens have survived the snow and wind. Another major cost of all this disaster I expect.

More snow forecast this afternoon. Cornwall is gridlocked and at a standstill with rail links at Dawlish again broken. I believe the West Country may be worse off than the rest of the country. Edwina still hopes to fly to New Zealand on Saturday from Heathrow?

Thank heavens for open wood fires!

Karol has good pictures of the huge 4 feet high snow drifts below the church and at the Portholland turning.

To cheer us up Jaimie has installed the magnolias in the hall. These were cut exactly a week ago for the Spring has Sprung in Cornwall party at the Nare (which didn’t of course happen) before the east winds started. The purple one in the centre is
Magnolia ‘F J Williams’. I rather doubt that anyone in the country is admiring such a display today!

2017 – CHW
Two hours filming a 1min 45sec piece on ‘Spring has Sprung’ (ie magnolias) for BBC Spotlight news. It was live at lunchtime and more will be on in the evening news. Hail and rain did not help but the Magnolia ‘Lanarth’ was fantastic. The Magnolia campbellii just going over and ‘F J Williams’ looking good too. The same BBC crew from Plymouth filmed the last of these last year too. Cut flowers of Magnolia ‘Lanarth’ will be in vases with the newsreaders tonight we hope!The worst rabbit damage I have ever seen on rhododendron bark and a mature plant too. This has all occurred in the last few days. Rabbits reacting to the cold weather a week ago by seeking nutrients from bark?

Magnolia campbellii ‘Lamellyn’ with far less flowers than last year is now full out on the drive about five weeks later than last year. Poorish small flowers too so far.

Rabbit damage on the ‘Lamellyn’ root system too not far from the damaged rhodo.

The Hydrangea ‘Fireworks’ clump has been nicely pruned back hard from the drive. Nice new shoots coming through. About 10 years of growth removed. It will, I expect, be a year or two before it flowers properly again. We saw some colour still on this in November in this blog.

Rather odd to be filming (live) outside the front door with Lizzie watching it live on TV at the same time 12ft away! The wonders of modern technology all in a large van with a huge satellite disc. Their phones did not work but the satellite did!