Thursday 2nd.

I decided to replace the gangly Trachycarpus in the Fernery with a large clump of Hedychium densiflorum ‘Assam Orange’ which I had divided in Spring. I think it looks better there but I hope it manages to flower in the shade. It is also very dry - we’ll see. The enormous Hibiscus flowers of Walberton’s Rose Moon associate well with Eucomis Sparkling Burgundy.

Monday 6th.

Very hot last two days (25C - 28C!) and getting hotter for another two apparently. I almost feel my Mexican plants loving the heat! Our Golden Wedding lunch party on Saturday went very well and the weather was just about perfect.

A post on Instagram from Nick Macer with photo of new leaves of his Cinnamomum camphora got me thinking that the tree I planted in the early 1990s as C. camphora is not that in spite of its original label. The new growth of C. camphora is red whereas mine has yellow new growth. It is obviously hardy where C. camphora is not very (I lost a young tree many years ago). I think what I have is Cinnamomum japonica.  I shall relabel as such.

Cinnamomum japonica top of leaf (left) & underside of leaf (right)

Sunday 12th.

I have taken the saw to the dead branches of Magnolia Apollo and then decided to clear the lower branches of M. Star Wars and a backwards branch of M. Athene. Now much more light in and emboldened, I have decided to fell M. Moonspire which has been singularly useless - £65 wasted but it has to go!

I decided that at the base of the new tree fern by the Wellingtonia I would put Begonia grandis in its white form and it looks good against the tree fern trunk. I have added the very dark leaved Heuchera Black Pearl.

Monday 13th.

I noticed the Colquhounia coccinea is starting to flower well. It is quite a sprawler, especially this year when there has been so much growth so will need cutting back in the Autumn.

Thursday 16th.

Finally finished (for the moment) clearing the Jury magnolia bed and surrounding area.  The dead branches of M. Apollo sawn off and some of the Star Wars branches as well. I felled the useless Magnolia ‘Moonspire’ after dithering for a few years so at last that is gone and a lot more light let in to the area. I received two plants of the repeat flowering camellia  C. azalea (aka changii) from Thompson and Morgan called ‘1001 Summer Nights Jasmine’ which is a most peculiar name as the flowers are red and I can’t find out if they are scented. I planted one in the Jury Magnolia clearing which has two buds on it so we shall see.  The other, I think I shall keep in the greenhouse over winter.

Sunday 19th.

Garden open for the NGS and we had 40 visitors and 4 children. It turned into a lovely afternoon - we had (very welcome) heavy rain yesterday afternoon and through the night so everything looked refreshed. The clump of Kniphofia rooperi is really expanding and flowering well. The olearia beside it (now in it!)  is going to have to move or something else needs to happen.

The Kniphofia caulescens in the Autumn border is also looking good.

The flower on the left has a little flower from the same stalk; not something I’ve seen before.

Monday 20th.

I moved Rhododendron Tinkerbird from by the Summerhouse to beside Magnolia  by the Pope’s urn. It had become very dry and droopy there, so I thought it might have a better chance in the leafmoldy bed. All the Japanese hydrangeas around there are also looking very droopy and going into premature decline.

Tuesday 21st.

Jeff and Jason brought another (and even bigger) tree fern which had been in a pot by their old house, but the present owners had never watered it and it has got very dry. It was sawn off at the bottom as it is 7ft tall and we put it into the 18in deep hole in the Fernery that Rob had prepared a while ago.  I got a trailer load of soil /  compost from behind the small temple and built it up around it the trunk base by another 4in or so, firming in well. I ran the hose into the crown for 5 minutes to try and give it a soaking. I hope it will survive. I might get a sprinkler for the fernery it has been so dry generally. The good lot of rain on Saturday perked things up but didn’t penetrate.