7th July

…milk thistle and is uncommon so little chance of me finding this growing locally here. More is the pity!This is Cirsium palustre, the marsh thistle, which is quite common here…

16th July

…did not like the winter but is recovering well. Sapium sebiferum Two diseased and elderly beech trees and an oak have been felled by tree surgeons. A little damage with…

15th July

…very little else, and a fine lot of rain after a very dry bout. 1915 – JCW Two years old stuff all out of their pans. Plagianthus lyalii did half…

14th July

…here. Hypericum canariense Hypericum canariense Poterium spinosum – Prickly burnet from Crete looks a peculiar and nasty little plant. Seeds forming but missed the flowers. Poterium spinosum Poterium spinosum Acanthus…

4th July

…& Katie turned back on the M5 one weekend as both children were sick in the car and we have not seen them all since. Little Beatrice (aged one year…

15th May

…drive now. turkey oak turkey oak Magnolia ‘Moonspire’ flowering properly (or properly noticed) for the first time. Jaimie picked a flower. A x brooklynensis seedling. Magnolia ‘Moonspire’ Magnolia ‘Moonspire’ Malus…

27th June

…Peach’ Potentilla fruticosa ‘Bellissima’ Rubus odoratus nicely in flower. Rubus odoratus Lespedeza bicolour ‘Yakushima’ is also a new entry. Tiny little flowers in profusion. Lespedeza bicolour ‘Yakushima’ Lespedeza bicolour ‘Yakushima’…

21st June

…am startled at how shell shocked we were as a country by lockdown in late March and how little thought was given then to the economic consequences of preserving our…

14th June

…a week. Stewartia pseudocamellia Stewartia pseudocamellia But its bark is only just starting to ‘fissure’ near the base. Further up the stem little has changed for a year. bark bark…

11th June

…japonicum on Burns Bank is nearly dead from the 2 droughts. Cercidiphyllum were very badly affected by this all over the country. A very dry spot with little shade. Cercidiphyllum…

31st May

…different. Those species which seeded profusely last year are having a year off and have little, if any, flowers – Styrax serrulatus, Styrax hemsleyanus, Styrax hookeri. The hot weather seems…

22nd May

…Solace’. At least 50 press photographers and camera crews assemble half an hour before the photo call at 10.45.The bar is opened by our sponsor, Guy Hands, a little before…

17th May

…outside the back yard nearly over before Chelsea. Rhododendron ‘Sappho’ Rhododendron ‘Veryan Bay’ Rhododendron ‘Veryan Bay’ Rhododendron zaleucum still flowering a little after its haircut last winter. Rhododendron zaleucum Then…

28th November

…A little autumn colour remains on Rhus chinensis. Rhus chinensis Lindera erythrocarpa turning yellow. Other deciduous Lindera species have already shed their leaves and I have missed them this year….

30th November

…starting to flower. The trusses seem a little deformed but the colour on the bells is clear enough. Very odd! unlabelled Enkianthus unlabelled Enkianthus unlabelled Enkianthus The old quince has…

5th December

…these last year but perhaps a little earlier. Need to check. The frosts (minor) over the last few days may have had an impact. first daffodil shoots Hydrangea ‘Madame Mouilliere’…

13th December

…hours of work per month and many anomalies remain. Plant names have changed, my great grandfather’s comments are not always still legible and since I know little about daffodils his…

9th December

…cut back new growth with blue tit damage obvious on some. A little browning from frost. Other plants elsewhere in the garden still to show. Camellia ‘Cornish Snow’ Camellia ‘Cornish…

11th December

…problems or rows (three this week) which take up most of the surplus (little) time. On we go! Sorry no pictures today. 1995 – FJW 3 flowers out on pale…

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…