Ross Collins has cleared about an acre of Goretti damage above the drive. Now to work out which surviving trees to also fell before replanting. Almost all of them I think.

A secondary flowering on Rhododendron ‘Blue Tit’.

First flower in September on Camellia japonica ‘Takanini’. Earlier than ever.

A couple of flowers on a Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’.

New growth and flowers on Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’.

2025 – CHW

Another planting day.

Persea bracteata growing on well a year after planting.

Cornus drummondii ‘Sunshiny Drops’ with the fruits turning colour.

Myoporum laetum with ripe black seeds.

Staphylea colchica ‘Black Beauty’ with its autumn colour.

Lindera praecox not exactly making a good autumn show, as it should, but this is Cornwall.

Euonymus huangi with pinkish seed heads and orange seeds – another new first time at Caerhays.

Euonymus verrucosus with strange seed heads containing a single red seed – also a first timer here.

2024 – CHW
3 swans arrive on the lake as further cutting work takes place around the islands. The resident pair and their 6 cygnets are not impressed and after a big fight the 3 upstarts are driven off. We think the 3 upstarts were actually raised here the year before. Three of the nine cygnets from last year were very slow to leave or be driven away by the resident pair in the autumn as is usual. They were still lurking up the water meadows in February before they finally left as a trio.

Another photograph of East Portholland before the old road between East and West slipped into the sea. Early 1960’s or thereabouts judging by the cars.

The very first flower on the first Camellia sasanqua to show. Just in September again this year.

The end of the double stemmed horse chestnut with the fire on top of the half dug out stump.

Autumn colour on a grafted Acer x conspicuum ‘Phoenix’ (rootstock is Acer davidii ‘George Forrest’).

Schefflera shweliensis (TH 3330) is really getting going.

Schefflera trevesioides (BWJ 15158) has died. It looked sick in the spring after a very mild winter. An expensive casualty but there we go.

2023 – CHW
Further investigations in the greenhouse.A flower still on Magnolia laevifolia x chapmanii x [M. laevifolia x maudiae] which is scenting the greenhouse. Out of season to put it mildly.

First seed heads on Euonymus schensianus.

One of Asia’s seed grown Rhododendron yuefengense (TH 2785) is about to flower.

Karol & Asia besides the frames.

Beside the frames and growing on the dead roots of a Rhododendron arboreum is Geastrum triplex or the Collared Earthstar fungi. A bizarre shaped fungus which starts onion shaped and then splits into 5-7 segments.

Brock inspects the piles of plants picked out for planting in different areas.

This pile for Old Park includes a dozen magnolias.

We acquired this plant of Lindera cercidifolia which grows above Hovel Cart Road in 2002. Its leaves are nothing like the 3 lobed Lindera obtusiloba which is now said to be the same thing as Lindera cercidifolia and Lindera praetermissa. I would beg to differ.

The second ancient and darker form of Camellia sasanqua on the castle walls is now out as we await the tail end of Storm Agnes.

Also now just a couple of flowers on the first of the white forms of sasanqua.

2022 – CHW
After heavy rain for 16 hours another planting day with the ground rather wetter.Berries on Vaccinium retusum as it goes into the ground.

Osmanthus yunnanensis normally flowers in late winter but here it is on 16 year old plants above the greenhouse.

Magnolia acuminata ‘Seiju’ with lots of secondary flowers.

Euonymus hamiltonianus ‘Popcorn’ with white fruits but no sign of the orange seeds as yet.

The original Magnolia ‘Lanarth’ which was hit by a tree is recovering beautifully. It used to grow in full shade but no longer.

Microtropis petelotii is a little known shrub from Vietnam which is supposed to have violet fruits in late summer. I suppose they may yet turn. The leaf looks correct when you search this online but many of the pictures are nothing to do with this plant and obvious rubbish so I am not yet 100% certain of the identity of this oddity from Crug Farm. The fruit looks like a Euonymus species? Then I discover that Burncoose stock this variety so we must have grown this from seed. The Burncoose plants look a little different in their leaf form. This plant need full shade which it hasn’t got here but it survived the drought in good order.

A one year from planting Euonymus oxyphyllus (BSWJ 10815) with excellent open seed capsules.

I don’t ever remember our largest 40 year old Magnolia virginiana setting such a crop of seeds as here now. Asia needs to grab these in a week or two. Another by-product of the drought. The silvery undersides of to the leaves are splendid too.

Secondary flowers appearing on Magnolia ‘Ian’s Red’. I have not seen this variety do this before.

2021 – CHW
Beautiful secondary new growth on a newly planted Podocarpus wangii. Cuttings originally from Tregrehan.

Rosa banksiae ‘Alba Plena’ is now well established on the Tin Garden shed. My mother’s favourite rose.

Still a great show on Magnolia ‘Yakeo’.

Astonishingly vigorous late new growth on Paulownia kawakamii.

Photinia villosa var. coreana loaded with berries.

Severe nibbling by roe deer on this weeping cherry.

Sorbus prattii with just two clusters of white berries.

Photinia villosa var. zollingeri rather sparsely berried.

Photinia villosa var. laevis covered in berries but far less ripe.

Photinia macrophylla (if correctly named?) has joined the dodo!

A 2014 planted Quercus franchettii with vigorous new growth and attractive bark.

Quercus rugosa has struggled in drier summers but is now getting away now that its trunk is protected from roe deer horns.