…Rhododendron ‘Veryan Bay’ in flower. Jaimie cut down half of it last autumn and what is left is leggy and sick. Rhododendron ‘Veryan Bay’ New leaves appearing on Carpinus turczaninowii…

…last autumn for the first time in a decade. Not a good sign! Three more camellias with tiny flowers: ‘Fairy Wand’ with more flowers in full sun than the one…

…some of the malus species and varieties which we are now assembling to plant in the autumn/spring in the Kitchen Garden now it is completely cleared. A lot more to…

…flower buds appearing and the inevitable slug damage sargentiana always suffers. Hydrangea sargentiana ‘Goldrush’ Hydrangea sargentiana ‘Goldrush’ Hydrangea robusta ‘Titania’ from Vietnam also only planted last autumn. Attractive foliage. Hydrangea…

…of pink on the reverse of the odd petal. From the autumn colour seen last autumn on this young plant I suspect it may well in fact be Stewartia rostrata….

…the Giddle Orchard ready for replanting in the autumn. I will enjoy thinking about what would grow well there over the summer. Perhaps some rare oaks or something with copper…

…maintenance in his dotage and we agree to swap clumps of herbaceous for shrubs in the autumn. Phlox ‘White Admiral’ is just coming out. Phlox seldom look as good as…

…excellent new growth Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Party Lights’ Photinia fraseri ‘Magical Volcano’ – silly selling name but much better than ‘Red Robin’ and on a par with Photinia serratifolia ‘Pink Crispy’…

…briefly! climber tunnel Unusual autumn colours on Kadsura japonica which I had not seen before. Kadsura japonica Kadsura japonica The nastiest job of the year for the potting team –…

…I have seen tiny yellow-green flowers once. Planted in 2007. Schinus polygamus Schinus polygamus Schinus polygamus Nice autumn tints on Parastyrax sp. nova (Crûg 15165). Parastyrax sp. nova Then I…

…This raspberry is very late to fruit and already the leaves have great red and purple autumnal tints. Last year we saw fruit in November I think? Rubus ichangensis Rubus…

…equipment and Gerry, back from maternity leave, is taking the leading role. We complete 13 new videos about pruning and tidying herbaceous plants after flowering and in preparation for autumn.The…

…oak Turkey oak Turkey oak Acer henryi looking very autumnal already. Acer henryi Mahonia japonica out on the bank even earlier than usual. The reference books say ‘early autumn’! Mahonia…

…completion. Strangely a five minute radio interview with Radio Stoke about how to grow magnolias! Clematis armandii with, as usual, a few autumn flowers on the castle front. Clematis armandii…

…Nice autumn colour developing on Cercis chinensis ‘Avondale’ in the Isla Rose Plantation. Cercis chinensis ‘Avondale’ I attach a list of the ilex species collected by George Forrest on various…

…see how the early autumn colour is progressing.Cladrastis kentukea at its finest but the yellow leaves which we looked at 10 days ago have already blown off. Cladrastis kentukea Cotoneaster…

…autumn planting. Corylus chinensis with enormous hazel leaves. Corylus chinensis Calycanthus ‘Venus’. Calycanthus ‘Venus’ Mahonia eurybracteata with its first flowers. Mahonia eurybracteata We saw this Lysionotus pauciflorus (BSWJ 335) in…

…Quercus phellos Cotinus ‘Grace’ with rather disappointing autumn colour this year. Cotinus ‘Grace’ Cotinus ‘Grace’ Cotinus coggygria has at least some decent yellow leaves. Cotinus coggygria Cotinus ‘Pink Champagne’ has…

…easy to propagate from autumn hardwood cuttings. The flower tassels are just starting. In time they will have a nasty scent. Oemleria cerasiformis Oemleria cerasiformis The purpose of my trip…

…the autumn and, although the flowers did not open properly, the sap was up and dieback ensued after minor cold. This has now been pruned out and the plant has…