25th April

…seldom remember seeing any flowers. Nyssa sinensis Water hawthorn – Aponogeton distachyos in the pond. An attractive water plant. Aponogeton distachyos Aponogeton distachyos Rhododendron triflorum var. triflorum – Mahogani Group…

20th March

…has made the customary video. Camellia lapidea newly planted. Camellia lapidea Frankie has installed the new water pipe from the old main to the tank above Higher Quarry Nursery. new…

23rd May

water further. We did identify a mystery plant near the Engine House as Ilex verticillata (near the Windsor Ilex spinigera) which gives us a second Ilex verticillata. Tom also confirms…

1st June

…immediately irrespective of the season. So huge pits, a flagon of water in each first and dung in each pit with plenty of difficult staking. We may have to water

31st May

…dying daily. A water bowser will be left in Kennel Close this week so that we can try to water those trees which are obviously struggling to survive. The recent…

6th June

…and very much in use watering young trees in Kennel Close. We have had a little drizzle over the last few days but no more than that. Water Bowser Crataegus…

8th June

…papyrifera 2019 – CHW Thank heavens for some proper rain. The garden looks so much better already and you can see everywhere water starved plants picking up and producing new…

23rd June

…temperature. Denis White, aged at least 84, still at work in the nursery now that he has been extracted from the old folks home where his wife has dementia. Watering…

5th July

…Clematis alpina ‘Frances Rivis’ Clematis alpina ‘Frances Rivis’ A leaky hose watering system. A leaky hose watering system Trachelospermum jasminoides and Rosa ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’. Trachelospermum jasminoides Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’…

8th October

…have to walk down the water meadows to achieve lift off. single swan single swan single swan The recent gales have destroyed what little autumn colour there was so far…

11th August

…the second cut. hooking around individual plants This old stopcock once controlled the water from the main tanks below the church which supplied the castle. An exceptionally large spider with…

1st November

…house. Sadly Kerry Burns died recently Narcissii already emerging. The prostrate growing Camellia sasanqua ‘Waterfall White’. Camellia sasanqua ‘Waterfall White’ I have looked every day but only now does the…

29th October

…pole pruners Michelia floribunda seeds still not quite ripe. Michelia floribunda Clearing around George’s Hut to make room for the new water tank. Clearing the work Clearing the work Completed…

26th October

…crassum which we watered through the early summer drought. Rhododendron crassum Camellia japonica ‘Takanini’ out here in October! Several flowers at the very top of the plant. Camellia japonica ‘Takanini’…

17th October

waterlogged in this already very wet autumn. All the grasses moved 2023 – CHW The October heatwave continues and we start out on our autumn planting.Berberis xanthoclada (NJM 11007) covered…

13th October

…the autumn is an essential task to help ensure survival in the next drought. Weed free plants absorb more water when it rains. Hand weeding Callicarpa shirasawanum is nearly as…

11th October

…nocturnum Spiraea japonica ‘Anthony Waterer’ covered in flower. Spiraea japonica ‘Anthony Waterer’ Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’ with autumn colour and still a few late flowers. Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’ Anemone hupehensis ‘Whirlwind’….

9th September

…now full out. A hint of purple around the stigmas. Hoheria sexstylosa ‘Crataegifolia’ Hoheria sexstylosa ‘Crataegifolia’ Plenty of flower buds on Polyspora longicarpa. Polyspora longicarpa Tristaniopsis laurina, the Water gum,…

5th October

…a visit to Picton Castle (thankfully not National Trust) in Wales. There they have a series of ponds with well manicured clumps of bamboo reflecting in the water. The clumps…

1st October

…old) beech has also split in half. As usual two main leaders and, as you can see, water ingress into the trunk which has caused the collapse in the wind…