A few flowers on a drought scarred Rhododendron concatenans.

Colour coming on Cladrastis kentukea – it has never flowered.

Sorbus adamii.

Secondary flowers on Magnolia ‘Vulcan’ x M. ‘Black Tulip’ – excellent colour and flower shape.

Ripening fruits Crataegus schraderiana.

Rhododendron decorum flowering after the end of the drought.

Three mature swans fight the incumbent and the 6 cygnets.

Jim Gardiner sends me pictures of Magnolia sieboldii ‘Colossus’ with exceptional fruiting and Hedychium ‘Thai Spirit’.

2025 – CHW

Brief but torrential rain.

The base of the new swimming pool is now in place ready for pouring concrete next week.

A good lot of flower on Rhododendron ‘Yellow Hammer’ in Tin Garden.

Berries ripening on Photinia niitakayamensis.

Eucryphia lucida ‘Pink Cloud’ just coming to the end of a spectacular flowering.

Magnolia ‘Yakeo’ good in the sun.

Seed ripening still on Michelia doltsopa – plenty this year.

Mahonia eurbracteata ‘Meteor’ – a gift from Roy Lancaster – with its first proper flowering.

2024 – CHW
The flies in our bedroom (all castle bedrooms) are reaching monumental proportions as the hundreds of house martins which have bred under the castle battlements this year depart for Africa. Hot, warm days of 20°c and cold nights of 3-5°c drive the flies around the closed windows. Its nothing to find an inch of dead flies on the window sill at this time of the year. Our holiday let guests go bonkers with complaints but autumn is coming and flies are normal. Don’t try to read in bed!Here is a fine dragonfly seen and photographed by Michael in the Back Yard.

John Burford has made and replaced the metal fencing at The Vean which was smashed down last winter by a falling branch from a pollarded Quercus ilex. John has a major heart operation only a month ago in Bristol but has not missed beating at all 9 of our days shooting so far this year.

A young Magnolia (laevifolia x champaca) x (laevifolia x maudiae) with its first (out of season) flower. A gift from Raf Lenaerts in January 2023 and now growing in the former camellia foliage area.

Finally the new clearing above the old dog kennels is ready for replanting after the trees and old Camellia japonicas have gone. Room for 6 or 8 new magnolias here!

As yet very small seed clusters on Aesculus wilsonii.

Cotoneaster ‘Blaze’ with nearly ripe berries.

Cotoneaster gonggashanensis with large striking red berries.

Cotoneaster erratus with more berries than ever before.

Cotoneaster parneyi (not to be confused with C. lacteus) with berries still unripe.

Remarkably quick regrowth on the hydrangeas cut back hard only 5 weeks ago on the drive.

2023 – CHW
Heavy rain and wind but it is still very warm.

Loads of seeds on Styrax wilsonii this year.

Hoheria populnea ‘Variegata’ just out.

The clump of Rhododendron ‘Yellow Hammer’ is now making a good show.

Eucryphia lucida ‘Pink Cloud’ often has the odd flower but is now full out.

Seed and flower buds on Camellia taliensis. Should be flowers in 2-3 weeks.

2022 – CHW

Only a few house martins left. The majority went last week when the wind was in the North. A very successful breading year for them. Two egrets around the lake.

The Blue Cedar was planted by H.R.H. Prince Charles on 24th April 1984 below the Nobby. It has done well in a rather exposed, but prominent, situation.

The Queen Mother’s magnolia (seedling) was planted by her near George’s Hut on 11th April 1981.

I have now written to H.M. King Charles III offering condolences from the family and estate.

Euonymus myrianthus is a large tree and it is hard to see if it is setting any seed after the drought? The seed heads lower down are shrivelled but perhaps not higher up. We photographed this tree in flower in the spring and it is now a new item for sale on the Burncoose website.

Hidden away is the rather sad sight of a drought struck Rhododendron sinogrande ‘Lord Rudolph’. Dead soon with no new growth at all.

A huge, late summer leaf drop under the largest Quercus acuta after the drought. It’s very ‘thin on top’ today compared to normal years. Leaf drop of old leaves is normally in May.

Just a few solitary seed pod with only a couple of seeds in it on Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Picture’ x Magnolia soulangeana ‘Pickards Sundew’.

A strange leaf structure to the old leaves on Berberis temolaica.

2021 – CHW
Captain George reports that a fisherman had seen a pair of choughs above the cliffs between the Lookout and East Portholland.Borde Hill have sent an email announcing that their Emmenopterys henryi is flowering again. This, and photographs, are attached here. Ours is of a similar age and 80ft tall but has never looked like flowering (nor has our original plant of Emmenopterys wilsoni). Having seen the Borde Hill plants growing in full sun in a hot dry location I am not really surprised. Ours are in woodland with dappled shade towards the top of the garden.We now have two flail cutters rather than one flail and one Allen scythe. The second grass cut in the garden is nearly complete.

More pictures of butterflies on Escallonia bifida from Jaimie grass cutting in this area.