2022 – CHW

More new things leafing up and flowering.

Magnolia sieboldii ‘Michiko Renge’ – a M. sieboldii seedling selected by Todd Gresham in 1961 in Japan.

Beside it Magnolia sieboldii ssp. sinensis which is not as large or well coloured as our original M. sinensis.

Magnolia ‘Silk Road’ with a single flower (M. tripetala x M. tripetala x M. obovata).

New growth on the newly planted Rhus punjabensis.

Carpinus x schuschaensis (C. betulus x C. orientalis) introduced by Roy Lancaster in 1972. It is making a decent tree in Kennel Close.

New pinkish leaves as impressive as ever on Quercus bushii ‘Seattle Trident’.

Sorbus alnifolia nicely covered in flower.

Sorbus japonica just coming out. A real show to come.

x Sorbopyrus auricularis (Pyrus communis x Sorbus aria) flowering here for the first time. A peculiar mix but both parents recognisable. A rare and not especially interesting collector’s item.

First time flowering that I remember of Crataegus grandiflora. Huge flowers and well named. This large growing species is from [?]. (Again the reference book does not mention this species).

A young Acer sterculiaceum subsp. franchettii with leaf colouring as on our original tree.

2021 – CHW
Lots of showers – all good!A young Quercus rubra ‘Aurea’ in leaf. Two others newly planted in Kennel Close succumbed to last summer’s drought.

Quercus franchetii with new growth and flower showing. We trimmed this tree last year to shape it up as it had a hefty secondary leading branch.

Another of our surviving Rhododendron royalii hybrids is out – this time a yellowish form.

Labelled Enkianthus chinensis this is much more like the superb Enkianthus deflexus. Labelled wrongly I believe when comparing it to other deflexus.

Magnolia ‘Green Bee’ now full out.

We have seen buds before on Eucalyptus crenulata, but this is the first time I have actually seen flowers.

2020 – CHW
So now the teaching unions have instructed their members not to go back to work until the start of the September term despite what the government’s instructions are for June. The transport unions are trying hard to strike too but both have not yet had the legally required ballots.While the PRODUCTIVE part of the economy struggles to adapt to the plethora of new rules, protocols and risk assessments and get back to work the UNproductive part of the economy tries actively to frustrate this. The unions claim it is not ‘safe’ of course and have used strong language to ridicule the government.The fact that they have, in the main, been doing nothing for weeks on full pay and are entirely happy with the status quo is the reality. No 80% of full wages for most of them of course.It may even be worse than that in that the Corbynista revolutionaries leading the unions hope and see the opportunity to bankrupt the country and cause the Marxist collapse of democracy that they always dream of.Their outrage at the thought of a two year pay freeze to help pay for their idleness and intransigence over educating children was laughable in the extreme. Does it never occur to them that government largesse and handouts have to be paid for by working people in taxes and cuts to the public sector?No, socialists genuinely believe that the ‘magic money tree’ is never ending!What would have happened through this pandemic if Corbyn was in power and the unions running the country as in the early 1970s? No handouts for employers or businesses except in the state sector and renationalised industries one suspects.I seldom indulge in social media but Karol has compiled a long sequence of Facebook clips showing nurses in hospitals (all over the world) dancing and flashing their tits, not socially distancing, and clearly having nothing to do but amuse themselves publicly. A Treliske nurse told me they still have more nurses than patients in her ward last week. ‘Health’ before everything of course.Another of Karol’s conspiracy theory films shows the new hospital in Wuhan and compares this to the opening of the 2012 London Olympics. Here we see nurses pushing beds. Even a caricature of a sick Boris in a hospital bed. The whole shape of the dancing and lighting is very similar indeed to the shape of the Coronavirus which we see every day. A quite uncanny ‘coincidence’ and not something which I would have believed if I had not seen the film (I still do not!). Have a look here. https://youtu.be/4As0e4de-rI, starting at 44:00.Azalea ‘Annabella’ is as close as I can get to this one. Jim Trudgeon’s favourite. Dad decided to cut the clump down to rejuvenate it, but the experiment on the first two killed them, so the clump has remained untouched ever since.

The ash tree has been felled without it hitting the treasured Meliosma oldhamii.

Rhododendron ‘Silberwolke’ – a very different colour when full out.

Rhododendron ‘Fantasia’ just showing.

Nice new growth on Schefflera delavayi but do the huge old leaves not look battered after the gales.

Azalea kaempferi still a fine show and a huge bush.

The view from Donkey Shoe today.

Rhododendron royalii ‘Caerhays Pink’

Rhododendron ‘Fabia’ has been slow to come out.

Neolitsea aff. polycarpa with its new growth and interesting bark.

Azalea ‘Klondyke’ showing up well on the main ride. It was pruned back off the path and hence no flowers in the centre of the bush.

Rhododendron ‘Ruby Hart’ – very dark but the plants are dying of old age after about 25 to 30 years.

Rhododendron ‘Kabarett’

Rhododendron ‘Germania’

Rhododendron ‘Norfolk Candy’ shot its bolt and flowered in December. Very little flower today.

Lonicera periclymenum ‘Belgica’ growing at White Stiles cottages.

You have to be early in the year to see the three colours properly in the leaves of Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea Tricolor’.

Iris pseudacorus (yellow flag) growing by the pond. I wonder why I have never seen this out here before? Chelsea of course! We would normally be on the way tomorrow and away for 10 days or so.

Tamarix tetandra by the bottom lodge planted five to seven years ago. This species flowers much earlier in the year than Tamarix ramosissima which has always grown here.

Despite a heavy pruning this year Wisteria floribunda ‘Violacea Plena’ still has a few racemes of double flowers appearing on the new growth rather than the old wood.

2019 – CHW
Wisteria floribunda ‘Violacea Plena’ (syn. ‘Black Dragon’) seems to flower sparsely with its flowers partially hidden within its foliage. Wonderful flowers though when you see them close up.

This unnamed red evergreen azalea below the fernery is always covered in flower. Did Asia remember to propagate it last year?

In Old Park an excellent white deciduous azalea with a yellow throat. Again unnamed or unknown anyway.

A very late flowering huge Rhododendron sinogrande with equally huge flowers in the shade at the top of Old Park.

There must have been some frost while we were away last week. Just look at the bottom of the Gunnera bed below the old dog kennels in Old Park.

This unnamed rhododendron hybrid on Bond Street below the Four in Hand came from Trewarthenick and was grown 25 to 30 years ago there from cuttings from an elderly original plant. It is an outstanding show today and clearly a Rhododendron ponticum hybrid perhaps with loderi? If ‘Cornish Red’ will grow from cuttings so should this so Asia needs to get 50 or so down to Burncoose in a couple of months’ time.

To my surprise I find a clump of three plants on Bond Street which are the true Enkianthus cernuus rubens. Much larger bells and trusses than on the original Chinese plants in the Auklandii Garden but the anthers and stamens do protrude below the bottom of the bells as they should for this species to be true to name. I am not sure if I have ever spotted this lot full out before? As young plants isolated from other Enkianthus these are the ones to grow from seed or cuttings when Roundabarrow nurseries visit us next.

2018 – CHW
The Chinese TV crew are here again to film rhododendrons which are at their best. The programme series will start to be screened on Chinese TV early next year. The crew are visiting Exbury and Roy Lancaster before appearing at Chelsea again on 21st May on the press preview day. So more coverage then.Today was a non-speaking role with all the dogs rushing about. In and out of the front door, meandering through many rhododendrons under the drone camera, throwing sticks on the completely empty beach (China across the sea apparently) and walking up the drive. The dogs are the stars but when I enquire if this is appropriate in a country which can sometimes regard them as ‘food’ I am met with polite smiles.Along the way and without the filmmakers noticing I sneak a few plant pictures.The first aerial layers are in place on a magnolia. Karol and Asia have been busy but we will need bigger ‘balls’ for layers on plants with thicker/longer stems.

First flowers ever here on Magnolia ‘Raven’. This has a reputation for excellence and is, as I remember it, one of John Gallagher’s (deceased) crosses grown by Kevin Hughes. Late flowering and a very dark colour certainly but, as usual, one must expect larger, better flowers in future years. This one has only been in the ground a year.

Rhododendron ‘Van Nes Sensation’ which I had not seen out before. One from Millais I expect. A delicate blowsy pink with a compact habit.

Rhododendron ‘Beauty of Littleworth’ now full out and without the pink tinge in the opening buds.

2017 – CHW
Very sad news. My partner at Burncoose, Philip Knuckey, has tragically lost his son Sam. The nursery is very shocked as he had worked with us in his youth and from time to time since.Another yellow magnolia. This one is Magnolia ‘Ossies Yellow’ after the American breeder, Oswald Bloomhardt. Quite an infusion of green in the tepals which you can like or dislike.

Magnolia ‘Large Yellow’. Clearly a stupid name if the naming is correct.

Enkianthus curvus recurvus is now full out and properly recurved on the drive. Jaimie photographed another plant at Slip Rail which is quite different and only slightly ‘recurved’. I guess we now know which one is correct! The second plant is just labelled ‘Recurvus’ so possibly Enkianthus campanulatus ‘Recurvus’?

Sorbus folgneri ‘Emiel’ has a startling white underside to its leaves and as pretty a flower as it has berries as we saw last autumn.

Magnolia ‘Green Bee’ turns yellow when full out!

Azalea ‘White Throat’, a double, is just coming out on the drive as a young plant.

The more normal Rhododendron lindleyi without any pink in the flowers.

Salix moupinensis has attractive red new growth and is thriving in this damp spot where we have previously lost several rhododendrons. Not dissimilar to Salix fargesii?

A huge yellow flowering callistemon by the Hothead. We saw a white one at Eden earlier in the week. This one is very hardy and well established like the one at Burncoose above the house.

The original clump of Rhododendron tethropeplum in the Hothead raised bed is an absolute picture. Far more flower than usual.

A tail end flower on Rhododendron hanseanum above the wall.

The wisteria below the Playhouse if full out today. This has never been pruned at all and is 100 years old. It is not quite an ‘ordinary’ Wisteria sinensis as you can tell with a close up of the flowers.

Camellia ‘Giant White’ still has plenty of flowers. It has been out for at least four months now in full sun.

One of Jaimie’s hybrids above Crinodendron Hedge has a pleasant pink hue.

Rhododendron polyandrum beside it.

Rhododendron davidsonianum above the Main Quarry is the best show in the garden today. One of several big clumps in the garden but this one has never been cut back to reshoot and hence its height.