2022 – CHW
Illicium oligandrum, planted in 2017, with just a few yellow flowers today.

Started the autumn planting today after a few showers. After the drought we are bound to be in for a very wet period soon which might make planting impossible.

Below the beech tree clearing above the Higher Quarry Nursery a new set of specimen trees to, one day, take the bite out of the north wind:-

Pinus yunnanensis – given to us by Jim Gardener. Wild collected seed from Yunnan and apparently a dwarf form although it does not look it at present.

Abies concolor.

Ilex x attenuata ‘Sunny Foster’.

Planting in progress.

Oak trees raised from acorns from The Cottage in Durham.

A good secondary show now on Rhododendron ‘Norfolk Candy’.

Malus ‘Jelly King’ living up to its name. Real crabs!

Sorbus caloneura with just a few fruits.

2021 – CHW
A few views of the Tregavarras cliff fields which are restored coastal wildflower meadows (from scrub) which are grazed in the summer months with a water bowser. Gorse and blackthorn soon encroach and overwhelm the wildflowers so a late season trim is essential to maintain these fields as open areas.

This field was once (1990s), in part, cut with a tractor and flail but, with expensive modern machinery easily smashed and serious health and safety risks for the tractor driver on these cliff edges, this has now ended. This is how it all quickly reverts to impenetrable gorse and blackthorn scrub with no open areas for coastal wildflowers.

The only way to tackle areas like this today to create grazed wildflower meadows is with radio controlled brush cutting machines with no human risk. Over our boundary on the National Trust Boswinger land you can just see how the bracken has been strip cut (I assume) by a remote machine. The National Trust are supposedly grazing ponies on the Dodman cliff areas to restore wildflower meadows. Big risks of cliff falls (as we have had before with cattle) and I doubt that ponies on their own can really keep the bracken and scrub at bay without additional topping from time to time.Nevertheless a big success in terms of wildflower specie numbers as our recent survey has shown. These fields were G01/G02 in 2011 and are now G03 or nearly G06 (ie very species rich). Demonstrable conservation work but it has taken 30 years to get this far and would not have been possible without Higher Level Scheme grant aid. Expensive, but perhaps a prime example of ‘public money for public goods’ on the coastal path.

A fine lot of seeding knapweed in an untrimmed area.

This is how cattle can bash their way into a scrubby corner to let in light for wildflower seed to germinate.

The 1990s fencing on the cliff edge has collapsed.

2020 – CHW
As usual I was wrong to say that the new cotoneaster (species) collection only had two species with berries. A closer inspection with more time revealed some exciting new berries even if the specie names are horribly unpronounceable. The only real reference book on cotoneaster was published in 2009 and written by Jeanette Fryer and Bertil Hylmö. Since they are all planted fairly close together below White Styles I guess we should try to propagate from cuttings rather than seed.Cotoneaster tengyuehensis. Forrest collected this on his 1912-14 expedition so it might well have grown here before. It is often misnamed as Cotoneaster franchettii or Cotoneaster wardii although I am doubtful as to why when I look at our C. franchettii.

Cotoneaster ‘St Andrew’s Blaze’ (a gift from Fromefield Nurseries). This is not in the Fryer/Hylmö book so I need to find out more. A vigorous thing!

Cotoneaster teijiashenensis is a recent introduction in 1996 (by Fryer) from Yunnan. It has a narrow erect habit and is said to be good for hedging.

Cotoneaster erratus originates from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It does come true from seed according to Fryer which makes it apomictic! Collected by Hylmö in 1957.

Cotoneaster rokujodaisanensis originates from Taiwan and is described as a good all-rounder shrub with a creeping and climbing habit. Our plant is certainly true to name looking at the illustrations in the book.

Cotoneaster thimphuensis is from Bhutan and is also apomictic. Interesting yellow to orange fruits as you see here. This species is a relative newcomer arriving only in 1984.

Cotoneaster flinkii was collected by a Sven Hedin in Gansu in China in 1931. A good autumn show of fruit and leaf colour as you can begin to see here.

Cotoneaster rubens is another Forrest collection from NW Yunnan in 1914 but has been recollected recently. It is still rare in cultivation but shaping up nicely here.

Cotoneaster rhytidophyllus was originally a Wilson collection in 1912 and is clearly growing into a handsome species with a ‘lumpy’ or bullate leaf a little like Viburnum rhytidophyllum although that is not that clear from these pictures of a young plant.

So we now have 10 young plants of different new species fruiting for the first time. Dull and rather similar you may well say but the colours will improve as the berries become more mature. If you want to become an expert there are 400 species of cotoneaster so put up with these few and enjoy something new as we are doing! We had 15 to 17 new species from Mark Bulk two years ago and most were planted out a year ago with the final smaller ones planted this week. Pheasants have shown little inclination to eat cotoneaster berries elsewhere but the plants are all, for the moment, surrounded by wire netting to keep deer and rabbits away as well as pheasants. So far no trouble!

2019 – CHW
First flowers evident today after wind and rain on the first original pink Camellia sasanqua. These are 100+ year old plants and this one (of seven) is always the first but not always out in September. Is August the only month when there is no camellia out in the garden?

Callicarpa bodinieri ‘Profusion’ planted last spring in the Tin Garden is already producing copious berries with the leaves still green.

The Cornwall champion tree of Osmanthus heterophyllus (by girth) is nicely scented and producing a good show on what is otherwise a dullish evergreen.

The Mevagissey fire brigade had a practice yesterday evening pumping water from the pond to enable them to squirt their hoses well above and over the roof. Surprising that the fire engine fitted through and under the arches either end of the front of the house but it clearly did which is good news.

2018 – CHW
Sheep have found a crab apple tree with plenty of low hanging fruit in a hedge and are enjoying the rather bitter taste.

A group of Betula utilis var. jacquemontii growing in a garden in Northumberland. A wonderful effect from the tree trunks all together in maturity.

What I think is Sorbus aria ‘Majestica’ with huge leaves and still green fruits.

2017 – CHW
Last year’s new planting above Auklandii Garden is looking good. We removed a laurel hedge and have still to dispose of a few stumps from the fire in the centre.

Plenty of early ripe seed heads on an old Camellia japonica variety.

Lots of seed on Magnolia ‘Mr Julian’. Probably the most that I have seen on any magnolia tree in the garden this autumn.

A young Acer x conspicuum ‘Phoenix’ has very special autumn colour which goes well with its exceptional striped bark. Is it better than the Acer conspicuum ‘Silver Cardinal’ at Burncoose?

A filthy day all day. The puddles persist!