3rd November | The Garden Diary

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CONTRIBUTORS:

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2024 – CHW

A rotten at the base sycamore fell on a still night and blocked the path to Brunel Bridge. The American shooting party who were here yesterday were lucky (and so were we)!

Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Gold Rush’ was indeed turning colour nicely contrary to what I said yesterday.

Plenty of flowers suddenly out on Camellia x williamsii ‘St. Ewe’. Not quite the right colour yet.

Halesia monticola putting on a fair show.

As is Cornus nuttallii ‘Pink Blush’.

Cornus kousa ‘Satomi’ not looking bad either.

Enkianthus serrulatus takes some beating.

Another group of Enkianthus serrulatus below Slip Ral with totally different autumn colours.

2023 – CHW
Acer cappadocicum ‘Aureum’ with some yellow leaves but most already blown away.

Sorbus hedlundii (KR 1801A) now virtually leafless but the fruits are perfect.

Stewartia monadelpha last put on a show like this in 2021 in Kennel Close. It will get better if not blown away later this week.

Stewartia pseudocamellia is even better today.

Magnolia fraseri var. pyramidata has again produced a decent autumn show below Donkey Shoe.

As usual a few battered and misshapen out of season flowers on Rhododendron ‘Cornish Red’ above the Aucklandii Garden.

2022 – CHW
George’s Hut tidied up ready for the water butt to catch the roof water. Two hydrangeas dug out.

Magnolia ‘Albatross’ uplifted above the path. Brutal but it will make a better tree eventually.

Camellia taliensis now shedding its flowers but plenty more flowers and buds left plus the insatiable wasps.

Magnolia ‘Yakeo’ with yet more secondary buds in November. A crop in September have dropped or turned to brown mush.

A mangled first flower on Camellia x williamsii ‘Jovey Carlyon’. Normally out at Christmas, but much earlier in this mild autumn. Mangled because it is touching the ground.

Good autumn colour on Magnolia fraseri var. pyramidata as we have seen before by Donkey Shoe.

The usual secondary flush of flowers on Rhododendron cinnabarinum subsp. xanthocodon Concatenans Group. What a mouthfall of a name. It was once just Rh. concatenans!

Nyssa sylvatica ‘Wisley Bonfire’ getting going properly now.

I collected the first ever seeds from Linodenron tulipifera which had been blown off in the wind. I had never seen these seed heads before. They seem to contain viable seed which are winged and not therefore Magnolia-like.

2021 – CHW
Completed the autumn planting today; mainly in Old Park and Bond Street. Perhaps 250 new things in total planted out. Planting lists to do.Secondary new growth on Pittosporum bicolor by the Kennels in Old Park. Silvery in appearance.

Large clumps of shaggy inkcap, Coprinus comatus, at various stages of emergence and decay opposite the Gunnera bed below the Kennel. A common inkcap in the reference book.

A good combination of Cotoneaster franchettii loaded with berries and Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Gold Rush’ just turning colour.

We plant out Camellia sasanqua ‘Maiden’s Blush’ in the Rookery and it has a single flower. Not that exciting!

Coprosma grandiflora (a gift from Nicholas Lock) goes out by the camellia foliage piece and it turns out it is in flower. Not that impressive but you would not guess it was a coprosma until you saw the flower. This is how it looked today.

2020 – CHW
Tilia cordata ‘Winter Orange’ now leafless and glowing in the sun.

Callicarpa shirasawanum with less berries than last year but still outstanding.

No colour showing yet on Camellia ‘Cornish Snow’.

The unnamed Camellia x williamsii on the drive is well out (as usual) in early November. The larger plant outside the front gate is still flowerless.

Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Amber Glow’ is performing much as ‘Gold Rush’ seen last week. Not bad in the sun but not outstanding.

Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Red Star’ living up to its name.

2019 – CHW
A splendid Pinus wallichiana has been retired from attendance at the Chelsea flower shows and can now fill the open spot where the ilex oak fell on Friday night above the front door. It is a perfectly hardy species and it occurs to me that we already have one in an exposed site by Rookery Gate. Hopefully it will do better than the Pinus montezumae outside the front gate which died in a cold winter after 25 years.

Styrax japonica ‘Purple Dress’ is another new addition to our Styrax collection and has appeared from Burncoose. Wonderful late autumn colour.

Then on to inspect storm damage. Lots of small branches under the record Magnolia campbellii. Seeds long gone.

No autumn colour at all yet on Aesculus wangii. No wonder it grows so quickly.

Magnolia denudata with its full autumn colour about to drop but which survived the gales.

Surprisingly little damage so far but I have probably commented too soon!

2018 – CHW
Another visit to Tregrehan on Thursday to enjoy the wonders of this extraordinary garden with the Townsends.

Here are some highlights below,

click here for full details.

2017 – CHW
The berries on this Cotoneaster frigidus ‘Inchmery’ really are now salmon-pink having started yellow.

Rhododendron ‘Polyroy’ has a set of tertiary flowers.

2016 – CHW
The seed heads on Pseudopanax laetus are well formed but far from ripe. I planted this here on the main ride to annoy dad 30 years ago and it does not look that out of place today. A New Zealander by an ancient white camellia and under a Chinese maple.

2015 – CHW

Schefflera taiwaniana has seed pods at about 10 feet although I sadly missed the flowers themselves which appear to have been long racemes. This plant is at the very top of the garden.

In the Auklandii Garden a similar sized Schefflera alpina (from Crug) has similar racemes of black seeds although the leaves are very different and much larger. Again I missed the flowers despite looking through the summer.

I suspect a cold winter will put paid to the current fad for these Taiwanese exotica which I enjoy disliking.

2000 – FJW
Another very wet month (October) major floods over the country.

1950 – CW
Camellia hybrid in Big Quarry out and some opened indoors a week ago. Taliensis beginning. Several odd bits of Rho and also Sasanqua good.

1946 – CW
Several Camellia sasanqua out. Stable one best and earliest. Still some Auriculatum hybrids and all lots of Rho Yellow Hammer out. Viburnum fragrans at its best. Several (2 day at least) Glorious in Kitchen Garden out. Boiled 1945. Quite a lot out in Tin Garden.

1932 – JCW
Some C sasanqua in flower on the wall. Clematis panniculata is over.

1930 – JCW
Constant rain and wind but no frost yet. Camellia sasanqua is opening. May and I picked some nice Neriiflorum flowers and some yellow flowers off the yellow hybrid. Planting is very slow.

1901 – JCW
Nar corbularia clusii one flower open in a pot, some of the two batches of Maximus x Cyclamineus are coming up in the Tin Garden. Iris alata remains most beautiful. A dry cool east wind keeps the roses fresh.