18th October | The Garden Diary

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View 18th October 1897 – 2020

CONTRIBUTORS:

FJW 1955-2007

CHW 2015-

JCW 1897-1939

CW 1940-1955

2026 – CHW

Camellia sasanqua ‘Plantation Pink’ full out.

Cornus drummondii ‘Sunshiny Drops’ with yellow fruit.

Mespilus germanica ‘Nottingham’ with huge fruits after the drought.

2025 – CHW

Marie Louise Agius brings us a box of colourful Nerine from Exbury. What a range of colours!

Tom Hudson’s 4465 which he now thinks is a species of Rhus.

Camellia japonica ‘Takanini’ opening.

Toona sinesis ‘Flamingo’ with secondary new growth.

Stewartia anne with good colour. I cannot find this name in the reference books so fear it is a mistake?

Mahonia x hillieri now flowering profusely.

Euonymus bungeanus suckering from the roots.

Ripening seed pods on Euonymus tingens.

2024 – CHW
Again at Burncoose to try to catch some autumn colours.

Oxydendrum arboreum.

Cercis glabra with intense veining on its leaves.

Cercis siliquastrum with similarly pronounced veining.

Chionanthus virginicus just turning yellow.

Diospyros kaki looking wonderful.

Diospyros lotus. Two different batches, of different sizes, with somewhat different autumn colours.

Franklinia alatamaha just out in flower.

All the Cordyline and Trachycarpus moved under cover for the winter.

Acanthus sennii comes from Ethiopia and therefore, correctly, needs to come inside for the winter.

Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ has even darker leaves at they prepare to drop.

Photinia villosa var. coreana is a good mix of colours.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Rainbow’ full of flower.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Shinonome’ well out also.

Mist lurks in the tunnels in the early morning.

Quercus coccinea at its best.

I have always found the autumn colour in the garden here on Nyssa sylvatica as disappointing. Not however in the nursery.

Heptacodium miconioides with seed heads and a few late flowers.

2023 – CHW
KPK have finished the storm damage repairs to the stone wall sea defences built in the Second World War. A fair bit of work with the tide timetable to hand but this will hopefully prevent any further deterioration. One good storm and a small hole soon becomes a bigger one. These may be boring pictures for readers of the diary but they are an interesting historic record of the state of the wall today.

The second Camellia sasanqua is now full out.

While the first to flower is now nearly over.

Pimelea drupacea flowering away in the Isla Rose Plantation.

Lapageria rosea and Camellia sasanqua out together on the castle wall.

2022 – CHW
I do not think I have ever seen Rhododendron nobleanum full out as early as this. I saw colour here at least a week ago.

Rhododendron schlippenbachii with its ‘full metal jacket’.

Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ turning nicely on the drive. Again, earlier than usual.

Hydrangea aspera kawakamii ‘Formosa’ with its first flowers after planting a year ago. One flower just out and one now over. Pretty but not yet anywhere near as good as Hydrangea aspera ’Robusta’.

Crataegus laevigata ‘Gireoudii’ laden with fruits on this topgrafted tree which has mottled or variegated new growth in the spring. As the plant matures there is rather less variegated new growth. The plant has more interest for its stunning crop of berries than its new growth.

The fourth ancient Camellia sasanqua is now out.

2021 – CHW
Firmiana simplex has extended its main stem by all of 3in this year and looks happier than usual. One colder winter will surely kill it off.

The flower heads on Schefflera delavayi are enormous and the first flowers just out.

I said two years ago that this Camellia pitardii needed pruning back. The regrowth has come anyway lower down the main stem so no need to act now.

Schefflera pauciflora (WWJ 1199) with plenty of ripe seeds for Asia to gather. A very different form to our other S. pauciflora.

One of the very old and original wild collected Magnolia salicifolia has defoliated early and is looking to be on its last legs. Perhaps 10 years left?

Tucked away in shelter is Quercus chapensis which was a gift from Margaret Miles. Older leaves different in shape to the younger ones. Seed from Korea I think I remember. Clearly a tenderish one?