7th December

…of flowers if we had sun. Odd flowers of Rho lutescens and intricatum open.1908 – JCW Coums starting, roses nice very, small scarlet border geranium as good as it ever…

9th May

…split in half. Jaimie’s team still has to fell a couple of overhanging trees and to pollard an elderly rhododendron. bonfire A tail end Rhododendron ‘Cornish Red’ (more ‘Scarlet’?) is…

22nd October

…1943 – CW Double white Camellia below Engine House out – also some Cornish Scarlet and a lot of Yellow Hammer – Sasanqua in full flower on wall. Mag delavayi…

13th July

…arvensis Angallis arvensis, scarlet pimpernel, in great big clumps. Angallis arvensis Angallis arvensis Papaver rhoeas, corn or common poppy, which is in decline in Cornwall and usually found (before sprays)…

1st July

…plant has intense scarlet then almost black autumn colour. Rather better than described in Hillier’s who say autumn colour only in the most suitable growing conditions. Cornwall is hardly noted…

22nd May

…Cornus ‘Venus’ in the Burncoose Show Tunnel is too far out to come to Chelsea this year. Same goes for Crataegus ‘Paul’s Scarlet’. Cornus ‘Venus’ Pterocarya insignis is doing well….

15th May

…Magnolia fraseri ‘Pyramidalis’ Rhododendron ‘Sappho’ has a scruffy habit. Rhododendron ‘Sappho’ Rhododendron ‘Sappho’ Crataegus laevigata ‘Crimson Cloud’ is a wonderful hawthorn! Better even than ‘Paul’s Scarlet’. Crataegus laevigata ‘Crimson Cloud’…

12th May

…Acer macrophyllum x Sorbonaria fallax ‘Likjornaja’ – finally out in flower and developing into a small tree. x Sorbonaria fallax ‘Likjornaja’ x Sorbonaria fallax ‘Likjornaja’ Wonderful bronzy new foliage on…

23rd January 1897 – 2020

…Caerhays daff open in the Orchard, many crimson scarlet hybrids show colour, R irroratum is opening. R scabrifolium, lutescens, baileyi, two forms of dahuricum – moupinense, several Caucasicums, a bit…

10th October

…robusta ‘Red Sentinel’ Malus ‘Royal Raindrops’. Malus ‘Royal Raindrops’ Malus ‘Butterball’. Malus ‘Butterball’ Malus transitoria ‘Gulliver’. Malus transitoria ‘Gulliver’ Malus ‘Gorgeous’. Malus ‘Gorgeous’ Malus toringo ‘Scarlett’. Malus toringo ‘Scarlett’ Malus…

13th December

…crushing unwitting sunbathers on the beach below. We were told that the horizontal bollards would not be available until Easter but they still seem to have arrived. I do wonder

6th April

…a Daphne bholua outside the front door early this morning. No wonder they are such hopeless mothers laying randomly like this rather than in a proper nest. egg in a…

26th May

…‘Kilimanjaro Sunrise’ VIBURNUM plicatum ‘Kilimanjaro Sunrise’ VIBURNUM plicatum ‘Kilimanjaro Sunrise’ I wonder if we will ever be told the numbers who voted for each of the 10 Plants of the…

6th May

‘Scarlett’ was a good new form. Malus toringo ‘Scarlett’ Malus toringo ‘Scarlett’ Calocedrus decurrens ‘Berrima Gold’ [Not ‘Burma Gold’ – thanks to Wolfgang Keidel for pointing this out] may revert…

31st August

…nursery where they may have arrived on plant imports from Italy or Spain. Odd how such insects could have survived The Beast in early March. I wonder what their life…

5th March 1897 – 2020

…Hovel Cart Road despite the cold wind. Is ‘Ruth’ that much different from ‘Aurora’ I wonder? Both very nice New Zealanders. Magnolia ‘Ruth’ Magnolia ‘Ruth’ The first windblown and far…

16th February 1897 – 2020

…at first. I wonder if this clump ever had a name? Rather nice. Rhododendron grande Rhododendron grande Rhododendron grande Camellia ‘Fairy Blush’ (a Camellia lutchuensis hybrid) planted last year on…

25th January

…this year on Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’. I wonder why? Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’ Very frosted and dead young Echiums outside the Library window. Elsewhere the larger one year old…

23rd October

Wonder’. Cornus ‘Eddie’s White Wonder’ Variations in autumn colour on Rhododendron schlippenbachii. Rhododendron schlippenbachii Rhododendron schlippenbachii Colour coming on Acer palmatum ‘Ozakazuki’. Acer palmatum ‘Ozahazuki’ Evening light on Hydrangea paniculata…

28th September

…but now I wonder if it is in fact Yucca rostrata. Yucca rostrata Quite the biggest and the best clump of Strobilanthes rankanensis I have ever seen. Strobilanthes rankanensis Strobilanthes…