20th May | The Garden Diary

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2025 – CHW

A Silver Gilt Medal for the stand this year.

A visit by the Duke of Gloucester to the Burncoose stand with Tony Kirkham.

Giles Rayner’s stand of 5 fountains – we did not have a large enough stand to fit one in this year.

Blackmore & Langdon’s Delphiniums and Begonias. One of the two owners had his boiler catch on fire and burn half his house down but he stayed at the show.

The Isle of Wight Sweet Pea stand was next to Burncoose.

Quite what this exhibit was supposed to be I have no idea?

Here are a bevy of pictures of our King’s Trust celebrity, Joanna Lumley, appearing for our sponsors, Julia Hands and Hand Picked Hotels. Plenty of press!

2024 – CHW
Compare Rhododendron falconeri in full flower now to the Rh. sinofalconeri which we viewed recently. This mature clump were from a ?1930’s Kingston Ward collection rather than Forrest or so my father always told me.

Sadly the Rhododendron sinogrande which travelled up to Cheslea in 2018 and which has flowered away since its return has now succumbed to last year’s drought. Yet another delayed casualty.

The Burncoose stand nears completion.

Inevitably Karol Klein appears on the next door stand and the filming takes 2 hours for a 3 minute piece.

For the first time ever exhibitors are all allowed sales tables at Chelsea. These are modular and you can build and position as you like. Then some of the better outdoor gardens.

The Stroke Association Garden for Recovery.

St James Piccadilly – Imagine the world to be Different.

Muscular Dystrophy UK – Forest Bathing Garden.

Terence Higgins Trust – Bridge to 2030 Garden.

RHS Feature Garden – make your own mind about this horror!

John Wheatley carrying roses not dahlias.
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The team having finished the stand before some return home and some change clothes.

The water feature gets turned on.

2023 – CHW
Completed the ‘Trees for the Future’ press release for Chelsea stand which you can see here with pictures of a few of the rarer and more unusual trees on the Burncoose stand.

2022 – CHW
After the welcome day of lightish rain yesterday there are still puddles on the garden paths and you can almost see the new growth growing everywhere.Jaimie has got the new posts in to remake Higher Quarry Nursery vermin proof again after the second beech tree in five years smashed the fence completely. The laurel has been pruned back right around the edge.

A few new things to see in the newly planted euonymus and viburnum species glade:

Euonymus oxyphyllus (BSWJ 10815) has tiny grey cream flowers with mauve buds.

Euonymus echinatus has flower buds and attractive new growth.

Euonymus tingens not quite out.

Viburnum taiwanianum still in bud. I will miss the flower next week at Chelsea.

First flowers nearly out on a good clump of Rhododendron elliotii.

Viburnum calvum with the purple undersides to the new growth.

The new leaf growth on Sassafras tzumu is odd. A new leaf or two stands upright (initially) from each twig.

Magnolia ‘Genie’ still full of flower.

Rhododendron calendulaceum – Sandling Orange-Red Form

Rhododendron wadanum ‘Album’

Another named form of Magnolia sieboldii. This one is ‘Ming Pyong’ and the centre of the flowers are certainly a paler pink.

The Iris sibirica ‘Fran’s Gold’ is looking good at Chelsea for the Plant of the Year competition on Monday.

2021 – CHW
Rhododendron ‘Matador’ with branches hanging down with the weight of flower.

Photinia serratifolia v. ardisifolia (NMWJ 14513) with attractive new growth.

Schefflera rhododendrifolia is now growing away well.

I had thought the South African Halleria lucida too tender to grow outside but here it has survived its second winter.

I have been trying to find where I had planted Viburnum hoangliense for 18 months and finally I come across it above Higher Quarry Nursery. Pictures needed for the website. Attractive new growth and buds about to open.

Rhododendron ‘Mrs Lionel de Rothschild’ now full out.

Rhododendron yakushimanum looking good as well in a clump on Burns Banks.

Enkianthus campanulatus ‘Red Velvet’ out on Burns Bank.

Acer pycnanthum – a dullish rarity. The Japanese counterpart to the North American Acer rubrum as its leaves show. A slow growing small tree now about 15ft tall.

Acer buergerianum spp. formosanum from Taiwan with leathery leaves which has struggled and is clearly tender.

Pentapanax verticilatus (BSWJ 11797) is shaping up into a large multi stemmed shrub.

View 20th May 1897 – 2020