…top of the plant and plenty more new shoots still emerging in December. Small wonder these new species are so tender and difficult to get going! Will they adjust eventually…

…lump on his foot from the bite was there until his death. A wonderful innings from a legendary rabbit, squirrel and woodcock dog who ran and ran but would never…

…on a tree fern trunk outside the potting shed is an unusual find. I wonder what it is as the leaves have some hairs and it definitely is not Rhododendron…

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

…with ripe fruits. I don’t remember many flowers last spring. Camellia pitardii Now the slugs are devouring the orange casings on individual magnolia seeds. No wonder so few germinate outdoors…

…similar to our younger Sorbus wilsoniana. I wonder if it is actually Sorbus splendens? (IDS yearbook 2019 Pages 62-67). I will need to try out the leaf alongside the article…

…still is not ripe and I rather wonder if there actually are seeds in these huge pods. Magnolia rostrata 2016 – CHW Sad news. The recently registered (as new) Magnolia…

…would normally be considered to be adding to biodiversity in a woodland context. I wonder whether to argue this further bearing in mind the usual COVID delays on anything happening…

…This made me wonder if there were any ripe fallen acorns on Quercus lamellosa but sadly they had all fallen a month or so ago when still immature and not…

…on Malus ‘Prairie Fire’ – this is going to be a wonderful tree in the Kitchen Garden. Malus ‘Prairie Fire’ I was expecting real crab apples on Malus baccata but,…

…because of the walls. I wonder if deer like the ginger smell of these ginger lilies? Hedychium gardnerianum Hedychium gardnerianum Hedychium gardnerianum Interrupted by a phone call! More tomorrow. 2016…

…car park was looking particularly fine with the seed heads showing a hint of pink. Carpinus betulus Carpinus betulus Hook Norton village has always had wonderful gardens. Here a fine…

…If influenza killed 50, Covid was going to kill 500. If influenza killed a million, Covid was going to get 10 million. No wonder Congress, then the world, panicked. Because…

…its bulbous white flowers. Trevarno has a superb Agathis australis, which I had then never seen before. I wonder if it still survives today under Russian ownership? Trevarno (after Peter’s…

…side shoots from the base. Oreopanax incisus Oreopanax incisus 2019 – CHW A wonderful photograph in Jim Gardiner’s Christmas card: This is a picture of Magnolia campbellii subsp. mollicomata ‘Jim…

…Peter’ in the hall. Not as pale a colour as usual since picked before the wind. Magnolia ‘Bishop Peter’ Two wonderful vases of flowers outside the front door. Two wonderful…

…Abelia grandiflora Abelia grandiflora Carpinus betulus ‘Pendula’ still with wonderful autumn colour in late December. A small growing ‘mushroom’ shaped tree which Burncoose ought to stock. Carpinus betulus ‘Pendula’ Carpinus…

…back door. First time it has missed out for 20 years. I wonder why? Magnolia ‘Lanarth’ Some general shots from the Tregullow front door on what is now a bitterly…

…fantastic red blotching. What a wonderful plant for the aftermath of a cold spell. Pseudowintera colorata Pseudowintera colorata The large clump of Romeya coulteri outside the packing shed had clearly…

…from afar! Looking back again at the old hunt kennels Looking back again at the old hunt kennels I wonder how many magnolia flowers we have just experienced in Old…