Mahonia ‘Volcano’.

Viburnum odoratissimum ‘Coppertop’.

Ripe seed on Fuchsia procumbens.

Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Rainbow’ with its full colours showing.

Trollius cultorum ‘New Moon’.

Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’ with an autumn glow.

Juglans mandshurica with autumn colour.

Rostrinucula dependens just out.

Syzygium paniculatum ‘Newport’ in flower

Baccharis genistelloides flowering in the nursery for the first time.

Bischofia polycarpa with autumn colour.

Aralia cordata with seed heads.

Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’.

The Acers from New Zealand which arrived in late July are leafing up despite the drought.

Callistemon viminalis ‘Hot Pink’.

Passiflora ‘Damsel’s Delight’.

Abeliophyllum distichum already out.

Rhus glabra in flower.

Grapes in the sales point.

2025 – CHW

Surprising what is looking good in Burncoose Nurseries.

Tibouchina paratropica full out and covered in flower.

Clematis texensis ‘Princess Kate’.

Clematis ‘Romantica’.

Mahonia ‘Volcano’ just coming out.

Colletia paradoxa in flower.

Melaleuca gibbosa with its last flowers.

Pseudopanax ‘Dark Star’ with berries not yet ripe.

Celtis australis with its yellowish-white autumn colours.

Aster ageratoides ‘Starshine’ a very late flowerer.

Astrantia ‘Roma’ still in full flower.

2024 – CHW
An old friend from London sent me the attached newspaper cutting from The Times in September 1924. The Cornwall Coastal Path eventually came into being in the mid-1960’s and was not opposed by the Caerhays Estate. The Blair/ Brown governments enshrined into law a UK wide coastal path with full public access from the coast path to the cliffs or sea. Cornwall was the last English county where the new public statutory right of access came into being since the access had largely existed in practice for over 50 years. My fathers view was that the public would want to walk the coastline and would do so whatever landowners did to try to stop it. As ever Dad was well ahead of his time in thinking this way as Porthluney Beach had only just started to be used by holiday makers at that time.

This is Kel at the very top of the Abies grandis yesterday.

Today he started on the diseased Aesculus hippocastanum.

Now, by 3pm, the stump is being grubbed out.

This is the picture which Kel took of the castle from the top of the Abies yesterday. A view which we are never likely to see again.

2023 – CHW
A Burncoose day.

Eucryphia moorei just inside the entrance to the nursery.

Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ exhibiting its autumn colours.

The new introduction to the website finally in flower – Thunbergia battiscombei.

Euonymus planipes with more ripe seed heads.

Autumn colours on Aesculus flava.

And on Aesculus x mutabilis ‘Induta’.

And on Aesculus pavia ‘Atrosanguinea’.

Nyssa sylvatica ‘Wisley Bonfire’ starting to turn properly autumnal.

Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’ just out in flower.

Magnolia aquifolium with good autumn colour.

2022 – CHW
A large pallet of daffodil bulbs arrive (as ordered) as a naturalising mix to be planted on the public route to Old Park below White Styles. Jaimie may need to sort the mini digger (from Burncoose Nurseries) to get these into the ground fresh and quickly.

You can just see a large shoal of trout in the lake in this picture. We always think that cormorants, shags and herons have decimated our trout of any size in the (freshwater) seaside lake but this proves otherwise. Not for the first time this year it would that we have a good stock of trout and some much larger than you see here. Our wonderful retired now stand in/ relief vicar, who first came to here in 1973 has been known to exaggerate the size of the fish he tries to catch in the spring but I now stand corrected!

The Barn Owl box in the circular Noah’s Ark has been in place for 3 or 4 years. No resting birds have used it but it is, demonstrably, now an occasional barn owl roost. Noah’s Ark was built in the 1890’s by Mr. Noah, who lived then in the Bottom Lodge, to overwinter the 2 or 3 large cows that provided milk and butter to the castle. English Heritage originally listed it as an ‘ice house’ in the early 1970’s but this has long since been corrected and updated. Major repairs are needed (i.e. a new roof) although we have undertaken measures to stabilise the problem short term. Hopefully, perhaps a grant award to help us with full restoration from Historic England one day?

As I write this I hear a heavy duty Air Sea Rescue Helicopter nearby for some considerable time. The evening is still and sound direction can be misleading. However I rang some our staff to see what was happening out to sea as we have seen it all before and sea rescues do not always end well. In a tragedy it is always the estates fault regardless of reality. Apparently a Mother sets 2 children out on paddle boards after 5pm, and apparently, then leaves to walk the dog elsewhere. Apparently ‘a local’ hears cries for help while walking the cliff path. Anyway then a RNLI coastguard rescue boat, big helicopter, 2 ambulances and lots of other blue lights.

Can one guess the cost to the UK taxpayer? £30-£50k? I have no knowledge of the facts or details (as yet) but expect that the taxpayer will cop the lot with not a hint of an apology from those rescued. We have seen it all before!

2021 – CHW

Another visit to the greenhouses to see what was out in flower or in berry.

After the grass cutting on the banks the autumn cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium) have suddenly appeared in profusion. Pink and white forms. A timely cut.