1st August

…a pear. Pear ‘Doyenne du Comice’ Polemonium ‘Bambino Blue’ was pretty. Hardy? Polemonium ‘Bambino Blue’ Polemonium ‘Bambino Blue’ Polemonium ‘Bambino Blue’ Helenium ‘Sombrero’ in the rain. Helenium ‘Sombrero’ Helenium ‘Sombrero’…

17th August

…Monarda ‘Knight Violet’ and Eryngium planum ‘Magical Purple Falls’ Monarda ‘Knight Violet’ and Eryngium planum ‘Magical Purple Falls’ Lobelia siphilitica ‘Blue’and Lobelia ‘Fanship Burgundy’ Lobelia siphilitica ‘Blue’and Lobelia ‘Fanship Burgundy’…

7th May

…‘Ted Millais’ As fine a blue as anyone could find! Rhododendron augustinii ‘Penheale Blue’. Rhododendron augustinii ‘Penheale Blue’ Rhododendron augustinii ‘Penheale Blue’ Rhododendron zaleucum nearby is rather paler! Rhododendron zaleucum…

20th February 1897 – 2020

…lined shredding bark like a Heptacodium miconioides trunk. Some wind/frost damage to the huge blue-green leaves but the flower spikes in full flower up high. Why does our Schima wallichii…

5th December

…in their roots. 1928 – JCW Good lapagerias, fair Cam sasanquas. Blood red Arboreum x give us a bloom. The early blue stylosa is nice. Cotoneaster salicifolia is good. A…

27th August

…to their full potential. blue flowering hydrangea blue flowering hydrangea blue flowering hydrangea blue flowering hydrangea 2018 – CHW Schefflera aff. mynocarpa has a flower head forming late in the…

8th June

…to start cuttings going again. Podocarpus elongatus ‘Blue Chip’ Podocarpus elongatus ‘Blue Chip’ Podocarpus elongatus ‘Blue Chip’ Magnolia x brooklynensis ‘Titan’ has very yellow leaves. Drought strain I fear. Terminal?…

7th April

…White and blue Spanish bluebells. Spanish bluebells Azalea ‘Amoena’ racing out on the drive. Azalea ‘Amoena’ I stop to bemoan the premature end of Prunus ‘Shirotae’ as a result of…

20th April

…‘Patriot’ is blue in bud (but not as blue as ‘Blue Opal’) opening as you see. Different! Magnolia ‘Woodsman’ x ‘Patriot’ Magnolia ‘Woodsman’ x ‘Patriot’ Magnolia ‘Sensation’ is good and…

21st April

…but have failed miserably up to now. Blue-green young foliage and tiny rockery plants really which I believe have now been reclassified as rhododendrons. Menziesia ‘Honshu Blue’ Menziesia ‘Honshu Blue’…

29th April

…askew. Rhododendron ‘May Day’ As good a bluebell bit as we have in the main garden near Rogers Quarry. Bluebells Illicium majus is making a fair tree. Good new growth….

12th May

‘Blue Shadow’ is about right. Not quite sure about the name yet? Where is the ‘blue shadow’ the judges will say. Cornus kousa ‘Blue Shadow’ Cornus kousa ‘Blue Shadow’ Magnolia…

24th May

…A young Sorbus gonggashanica putting on a good show. Sorbus gonggashanica Sorbus gonggashanica Magnolia ‘Summer Solstice’ now at its very best. Magnolia ‘Summer Solstice’ Magnolia ‘Summer Solstice’ Aesculus assamica. Aesculus…

3rd July

…decent blue in our soil. Hydrangea serrata ‘Bluebird’ Hydrangea serrata ‘Bluebird’ Hydrangea serrata ‘Bluebird’ A fine plant of Quercus x bushii with huge and slightly irregular leaves but each has…

4th July

…Hydrangea ‘Fireworks Blue’ Hydrangea serrata ‘Bluebird’ is also out early and a good blue. Perhaps the best hydrangea on the drive today. Hydrangea serrata ‘Bluebird’ Hydrangea serrata ‘Bluebird’ 2015 –…

10th July

…investigate. Hydrangea xanthoneura wilsonii Rosa filipes ‘Kiftsgate’ – a gigantic edifice which is 85 years old (20m x 25m). Rosa filipes ‘Kiftsgate’ Rosa filipes ‘Kiftsgate’ Gorgeous double blue flowered geranium…

4th September

…still has just a few decent flowers left. Eucryphia lucida ‘Pink Cloud’ An even better secondary show on another clump of Rhododendron ‘Blue Tit’. Rhododendron ‘Blue Tit’ Viburnum rhytidophyllum now…

16th October

…Old Park where sasanquas once grew. Beatrice Fleur Williams christening plantation Beatrice Fleur Williams christening plantation Beatrice Fleur Williams christening plantation Beatrice Fleur Williams christening plantation Beatrice Fleur Williams christening…

23rd October

…‘White Lace’. Hydrangea paniculata ‘White Lace’ Young Acer campestre showing autumnal yellow. Acer campestre Hydrangea ‘Fireworks Blue’ turning to reddish purple. Hydrangea ‘Fireworks Blue’ First yellowing on Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Aureomarginata’….

25th November

…and fade into such extraordinary dark colour. Mainly dark red but with some greens. Three blue flowers still remain at the top of the bush. a blue hydrangea can turn…