…monogyna (hawthorn) laden with seeds for the thrushes and other winter migrant birds. Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) laden with seeds Sorbus aucuparia (mountain ash) with perhaps the finest crop of all….

…in four to six weeks with no winter hibernation at all. Parrotia persi Hydrangea ‘Madame Mouilliere’ still has some perfect flowers left above Red Linney. Staggering after many months of…

…wagnerianus despite the trunk half blowing over last winter. Trachycarpus wagnerianus Another exceptional magnolia with blue flowers initially. Magnolia acuminata ‘Seiju’. Magnolia acuminata ‘Seiju’ Azalea ‘Greenway’ sporting a few white…

…nitida Magnolia nitida Magnolia nitida When you look at the old trunk you can see where the 1963 winter necessitated pollarding down what was still (then) alive. It has grown…

…horizontalis is not an evergreen and what a good winter colour show it can produce. Cotoneaster horizontalis Cotoneaster horizontalis Still a few tail end flowers on the ancient Camellia sasanqua…

…stem by all of 3in this year and looks happier than usual. One colder winter will surely kill it off. Firmiana simplex The flower heads on Schefflera delavayi are enormous…

…Xanthocyparisus vietnamensis is already being overtaken by the quantity of mature growth. The juvenile growth propagates easily from cuttings. Xanthocyparisus vietnamensis Little winter’s wind damage on the tender Ternstroemia gymnanthera….

…winter. I saw about a dozen on the drive yesterday and they are exploring far and wide. The Kania 2000 traps from New Zealand have dealt with nine so far…

…azorica Laurus azorica Daphniphyllum macropodum var. humile with yellowish new growth and red buds showing. Daphniphyllum macropodum var. humile Daphniphyllum macropodum var. humile Despite the mild winter a lot of…

…guess it did not have to die down at all in the mild winter so is now full out earlier than usual and right at the top of the camellia…