Ripe fruits on Carpinus pubescens.

Just a single small seed pod with 3 seeds on Magnolia kobus ‘White Elegance’.

Huge flower heads forming on Paulownia kawakamii after it enjoyed the heat.

However most of the seed heads have shrivelled up.

Eucalyptus gunnii ‘France Bleu’ has also enjoyed the summer with tremendous growth.

Secondary flower as usual (but no seed) on Magnolia ‘Apollo’.

Sorbus hupehensis with ripening seed.

Eucalyptus crenulata.

2025 – CHW
Ilex perado var. perado with early ripe berries.

Cornus ‘Gloria Birkett’ (C. kousa x C. capitata) bred and raised by Spinners Nurseries.

Cladrastis kentukea in the sun.

Hoheria populnea ‘Variegata’ is the best thing in the garden today. Flowering better than I have ever seen it. Yellow-green leaves edged darker green.

Rhus chinensis nearly out.

Podocarpus wangii just about recovered from the drought.

Vitex agnus castus now full out.

The last fallen flowers under Rhododendron ‘Harrow Hybrids’.

Ripe fruits flowering on Cornus mas ‘Variegata’.

Ripe seed on Dipteronia sinensis.

The second ancient white sasanqua camellia has its first flower.

2024 – CHW
Not a house martin to be seen from the roof today in balmy weather still. Now just the house martin droppings to brush up and stop them blocking any culverts through the roof over the winter.

The trunk of the Turkey oak which is about to be felled in the Aucklandii Garden. The crown looks fine but the base does not. Bleeding cankers for several previous years but now saddle fungi, bark split and obvious Phytophthora infections as well as honey fungus. We think 120 years old but will soon be able to count the rings.

Acer henryi looking very autumnal already.

Mahonia japonica out on the bank even earlier than usual. The reference books say ‘early autumn’!

The label for this Hedychium seems to have vanished.

2023 – CHW
Interesting secondary new growth on Meliosma sp. TH5092 from North Vietnam.

First flowers on a young Schefflera aff. enneaphylla (HWJ844).

Schefflera pauciflora (WWJ 1199) with flower and seeds.

A replacement Schefflera macrophylla getting going now. Will the deer leave the leaves alone?

One plant in a large group of Rhododendron davidsonianum has decided to put on a show of secondary flowers. No sign of a flower on any other plant of this species that I can see today. Not a good sign I fear for the one flowering.

2022 – CHW

To the greenhouse to sort out piles of plants for different areas to plant out in the next few weeks.

Eucryphia lucida x cordifolia still has a few tail end flowers out.

Sorbus needhami with fruits even though still in pots.

First fruits on a pot grown Malus toringo.

Also on Malus ‘Prairie Fire’ – this is going to be a wonderful tree in the Kitchen Garden.

I was expecting real crab apples on Malus baccata but, when I look it up, the fruits are exactly like this. Most attractive as well.

Bischofia polycarpa as grown away well in the frame and doubled in size since April.

Lysionotus aff. kuangensis (HWJ 625) is an extraordinary thing which I must have bought from Crug Farm without having any idea what it was. Looks tenderish and perhaps a rockery plant? When I look it up it does need a frost free greenhouse and it is a creeping plant from the Himalayas. Rather large drooping flowers from equally odd, reddish buds in an odd formation. Clearly it flowers progressively over a long period. We have just the damp place in the Rockery for this next spring.

Ziziphus jujuba struggles here and has only grown to around 10 feet in the 35 years. My brother lighting a fire too close to it many years ago didn’t help. It should be producing edible fruit now but all I see is a few tiny yellow flowers. It needs Mediterranean warmth as it is very late to come into leaf each season. On reflection it has done better this year in the drought.

2021 – CHW
More pictures of Ross and his clearance of the valley / river bottoms under Manassick, Sentries and Parnalls Hill. Posterity may enjoy how it looks today.

During a recent wildflower survey Salix triandra was identified here. I fear it is no more in this particular location but seed will probably germinate. This is the almond-leaved willow which is a UK native tree cultivated for basket making. The ‘withy moor’ further up the valley also has this species.