18th November | The Garden Diary

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CONTRIBUTORS:

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2024 – CHW (images to follow)

A trip to Burncoose between the shooting days here.

The acers which arrived bare root from New Zealand, in only late July, are still in full leaf. Looking much better this year than 2 years ago. They will catch up on the seasons again by next spring.

Acer palmatum ‘Beni-schichihenge’ has not been in stock for some while.

Quercus coccinea at its zenith!

Various forms of Ginkgo turning nicely.

Franklinia alatamaha has amazing autumn colour.

Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum ‘Pearl’ now full out.

Next year’s crop of herbaceous plants all looking good.

The leaves Euonymus hamiltonianus ‘Popcorn’ turn white before they drop.

Loropetalum ‘Daybreak Flame’ also well into flower.

Good colour on a Hamamelis by the till.

A large dead sweet chestnut felled yesterday at the back of Burncoose House.

A good clump of Rhododendron lutescens in Burncoose Stable Yard in full flower today.

2023 – CHW

The garden at Penvergate now tidied and ready for new tenants.

Amid the brambles and mess an Actinidia deliciosa with small ripe fruit.

Quercus x bushii ‘Seattle Trident’ with its full autumn colour.

Magnolia obovata and Liriodendron chinense.

The ghostly white of Cornus alternifolia.

The record sized Camellia x williamsii outside the front arch is now well out.

2022 – CHW

Camellia x williamsii ‘November Pink’ now nearing its best and already shedding many flowers in this exceptionally early flowering autumn.

Camellia 'November Pink' — Camellia ‘November Pink’

Quercus bushii ‘Seattle Trident’, planted in 2017, putting on a fair show but the pink spring new growth is even better.

This elderly Mahonia was recently trimmed around and given more room and light. It has responded by flowering extremely well. From its age, overall height , flower shape and the timing of its flowers it is very probably Mahonia japonica. However, the flowers are darker than the rather more dense habit of the Mahonia japonica on the castle bank which grows in full sun. I may stand to be corrected but cannot immediately see what other species it could be. The reference books say up to 19 pair of leaflets on each leaf stalk. There seem to be 13-17 leaflets here.

2021 – CHW

The larger of the two gingkos outside the front arch is still fully green while the other (tucked away behind large Rhododendron ‘Cornish Red’) is properly yellow.

A nice combination of Fagus sylvatica ‘Asplenifolia’ and Liriodendron tulipifera with their autumn colours at the Four-in-Hand.

Prunus ‘Gyoiko’ with its autumn colours below the tower.

Prunus ‘Beni-Yutaka’ has a much more distinctive red in its autumn colours.

A very late flowering Hedychium maximum (BSWJ 8261/a).

Pterocarya fraxinifolia with brilliant yellow colours above Laundry Hill.

You need a huge area to grow Pterocarya fraxinifolia well. Just look at the suckering from the base of this multiple trunked spreading tree. At Tregothnan they now remove the suckers each year to leave a single trunk but Lord Falmouth recommended to Dad, when he gave him this plant some 40 years ago, that you should give it space and leave it to run riot.

2020 – CHW

Collected a good crop of seeds from Camellia reticulata ‘Arch of Triumph’. A 25 year old plant with 15 or so huge seed pods which were just starting to split open but still had their seeds inside. The plant is growing in full sun beyond the Playhouse.

Visited Old Park and Forty Acres (without crossing the bridge in a vehicle) to view the sweet chestnut trees to be felled / deadwood/crowns removed with local tree surgeons. The Forestry Commission have issued a compulsory felling order to be completed by March 31st 2021. About a dozen trees to be felled and crowns/deadwood removed on a few more. I have written my views on this absurd and unnecessary destruction of elderly and dying trees earlier in this diary.

Jaimie is happily gathering more seeds (at Pam Hayward’s request) for the Rhododendron, Camellia & Magnolia Group seed list distribution to members. It is a poor magnolia seedling year generally but he found a few Michelia offerings, Liquidambar formosana and Platycarya strobilacea seeds before I moved on to look for more named Camellia reticulatas which might still have ripe seed. Asia had (again) beaten me to it on ‘William Hertrich’ which had all been gathered in and I found nothing else on any of the others. Retics need to be grown in full sun to have a chance of seeding properly. I must prompt Louisa to gather Camellia reticulata ‘Mary Williams’ which always seeds so well by the glasshouse at Burncoose and recheck our 1930s originals.

We have sent Lithocarpus seeds to our Belgian gardening friends who have so generously sent us new things last year. The diary earlier records Asia’s successes with three very rare new introductions to UK horticulture which came as seed from them last year. That is how gardening really works and always has amongst real collectors!

2019 – CHW
A sunny but chilly day and wet underfoot.

Enkianthus campanulatus ‘Wallaby’ with good yellow colour.

Quercus dentata ‘Carl Ferris Miller’ just changing to brown.

Magnolia amoena still in full leaf.

Enkianthus serrulatus with striking reddish autumn colour.

Styrax tonkinensis (WWJ11868) is going to be a big tree if it is hardy enough. Some side branches have died already and I cut off another today. 2017 planted but wonderful bark already and a distinct leaf arrangement on its twigs.

2018 – CHW
Overnight the champion Osmanthus yunnanensis has blown over in the garden. I think that if we pollard it and carefully upright the stem while digging in the roots it may yet survive and reshoot. It might even remain a champion tree by girth!

More autumn colour on Stachyurus chinensis. As usual you can see that the flower tassels for next spring are already evident.

Rhododendron ‘Chink’, which is supposedly semi-evergreen but seldom really is, has produced a crop of flowers which look as though they are next spring’s rather than being secondary autumn flowers.

2017 – CHW
Camellia gigantocarpa is growing on rather well having looked a bit stunted for a few years after planting. No flowers yet (or signs of any) but new growth is now coming (dangerous) and the leaves become ever more gigantic. Certainly a plant to watch in the future.

First flower (facing inwards) on Camellia noblissima by front door. It would be interesting to find time to trawl back to the pre WW1 days to find out if this year is early or late?

The fallen leylandii (and some extras) have been felled and cleared leaving just a 6ft trunk of the Magnolia denudata ‘Forrest Pink’. I hope it will reshoot but time will tell!

Rhododendron nobleanum now nearly full out on the drive rather earlier than last year from memory. Some years not showing until Christmas.

The unnamed Camellia x williamsii on the drive by the Magnolia denudata is now full out and starting to drop after wind.

First flowers on the old Rhododendron mucronulatum outside the front gates. Just these two flowers and still some leaf left on the elderly bush. Last year I photographed almost exactly these same two flowers but rather later in January!

2016 – CHW
Camellia sasanqua ‘Narumigata’ is full out with huge flowers that have pink outsides when in bud. This is the newer form sold by the nursery. The very old original plant on the top wall has much smaller flowers as we will see when it is out.

Note the wasp going for the nectar and stuck in the flower. Quite late for wasps still to be alive after a few hints of frost and some colder nights recently. There were two in the flower and one drowsily dropped onto my trousers. No damage done!

You can just see a yellow wagtail on the ridge. Not a bird often seen in the yard although several pairs of pied wagtails nest here every summer living off the flies which the many house martins miss.

2015 – CHWLiquidamber styraciflua ‘Red Sentinel’ beside the drive is now at its absolute best. The top part of the tree is more purple than red but the odd remaining lower leaves are red. Marvellous in the sun today.

A seedling Cornus alternifolia self sown beside the original on Bond Street has promise as autumn colour with a few inner leaves turning yellow. However most of the upper leaves seem to curl inwards before they drop. The reference books say autumn colour ‘sometimes’ and we have had no frost yet.

1934 – JCW
A long spell of dryish cold.

1933 – JCW
Just as in 1931 but it has been calm and warm for the most part.

1931 – JCW
No dracenas they are away.C sasanqua open, no other camellias yet the first blooms of cherry are showing in the quarry. A few rhodo’s give us a chance flower. Lapagerias are quite nice and the first Erica hybrida showed in Oct 3.

1922 – JCW
Fruit on Dracena very good. Lapagerias fair. No C sasanqua, roses nice, a late season but very fine, most of the leaves off, could do rot almost anywhere in the wood.

1911 – JCW
C sasanqua remains very good, useful lot of roses in the three beds, various daffs mainly with jonquil blood are up. Lapagerias nice, cassia stays on, solanum good, cirrhosa is coming out.

1900 – JCW
I picked a Camellia sasanqua, several were open. A Romneya coulteri open, and several fair roses. I see 131 has come through, seedlings with maximus blood are showing. Lapagerias very good. The cold N.E wind has come.