I’ve seen the rock garden in a completely new light – November 2024

The following pictures were taken on 21 and 22 November. Storm Bert was forecast for the weekend and I thought I should get some more pictures of the autumn colours, before the leaves were literally blown away. There were a few nights of frost in the garden this week, so the leaves will fall even faster in the next few days. The 21 November was the preview night, for staff and volunteers, for the glow event in the garden. I thought it was wonderful and particularly liked the rock garden, but then I’m rather biased in my opinions.

You could say I was overwhelmed by the experience

The following pictures were taken on the 21 November when the staff and volunteers were given a preview of the glow event in the garden. I’ve only included the rock garden area but other parts of the garden including the glasshouse were similarly adorned with lights and other attractions.  The transformation is extraordinary. The colours have not been enhanced and it’s worth a visit if you can make it. You will need to book tickets as additional charges apply for glow.

Back in daylight the next day

Here follows a couple of plants that have rather splendid foliage at this time of year. Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ AGM is another plant I’ve become aware of since working in the garden. Planted in the fern glade it thrives in the shade. The genus name was chosen to honour Samuel Brunner (1790 – 1844) a Swiss botanist and plant collector. Its common name is the Siberian bugloss. The specific epithet is from the Latin for big or large leaved. It was a mutation on B. macrophylla ‘Langtrees’, seen by Mr Luc Kilnkhamer (who was a Brunner lover) when he was visiting his friend John Walters, who owned Walters gardens in the USA. Subsequently it was introduced to commerce in 2000. Also lovely when it is in flower, but gives great value for money with its striking foliage, throughout the year.

Pulmonaria rubra ‘David Ward’ was named and introduced by Beth Chatto Gardens. It was named for her propagation manager. In addition to the variegated foliage, it has coral-red flowers in February to April, doing well in shade, provided the soil doesn’t dry out. The genus name is from the Latin pulmo – pertaining to the lungs, hence its common name lungwort, one of the species thought to be a cure for lung diseases. Its specific epithet is from the Latin for red (the flowers).

Can you ever have too many maples

Acer palmatum ‘Fireglow’ was developed by Fratelli Gilardelli Nurseries near Milan, Italy, but named in the Netherlands in 1977. It is said to be an improved form of Acer ‘Bloodgood’ which was given an AGM in 2002. This cultivar has red foliage throughout the year but particularly so in the autumn.

Acer palmatum ‘Ryusen’ is a natural mutation that was found in a Japanese maple nursery in Kawaguchi City in 1990. Its founder Kahuzara Kobayashi named it ryusen, meaning flowing or falling water.

Last spring I showed a picture of the waterfall steps covered in cherry blossom and now it’s the turn of maple leaves. There was ice still on the Larix pool by mid-afternoon on the 22 November. The Larix kaempferi needles have changed colour and will shortly drop. A general view of the rock garden from the waterfall steps.

Some other little trees of note

Pseudotsuga menziesii ‘Foxy Fir’ is a sport of the Douglas Fir, the False Tsuga. It was the Scottish botanist David Douglas who sent seeds to Britain in 1827. The species was named to honour Archibald Menzies who discovered the species in 1791. ‘Foxy Fir’ is a Elton ‘Jerry’ Morris (1932 – 2022) selection. He was an internationally renowned breeder of native American conifers from Colorado, who collected plants for over 75 years, donating his vast collection to the Denver Botanic Gardens. I have learnt that brooms or witches brooms are clumps of genetically altered shoots that grow on normal trees. They are caused by stressors to the trees, such as a pathogen bacteria or phytoplasma, which are transmitted by insect visitors. The pathogens disrupt the tree’s hormones that regulate growth. Not all visitors are welcome in the garden, pests or pathogens, but they can have an interesting positive impact. Phytoplasmas were only discovered in 1967 by Japanese scientists.

I thought there was some brown, dead foliage on the tree, until I realised I was looking at the cones.

Crytomeria japonica ‘Funny’ was a sport of Cryptomeria japonica vilmoriniana and was found by Jean-Pierre Schrauwen. Mr Vilmorin Andrieux was a French nurseryman. The genus name is from the Greek kryptos – hidden and meros – part. It is native to Japan hence its specific epithet. This sport is very slow growing.

Phyllocladus trichomanoides var. alpinus ‘Highlander’ certainly has a name that should qualify it for inclusion in an alpine garden. It is endemic to northern New Zealand. Known as the Celery Pine, Tanekaha or Mountain toatoa. It is very slow growing. The Celery pine gets its common name from one of its leaf types. It has two types of leaf, a scale like non-functioning one and a flattened one which looks like celery leaves. The genus name is from the Greek phyllon – a leaf and klados – young shoot or branch. Its specific epithet is from the Latin for leaf like branches, having flattened stem or branch, replacing the true leaves.

Phyllocladus trichomanoides var. alpinus ‘Blue Blades’ is the other Celery pine on the rock garden. The foliage is certainly bluer than the former example.

On the bonsai walk, another of Peter Chan’s trees, Pinus thunbergia ‘Corticosa’ was basking in the late sunshine. It is known as the Japanese cork bark or black pine, being popular for making bonsai. The specific epithet was to honour Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish physician and botanist who introduced many plants from Japan. It comes from Korea and Japan, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu where it grows on the coast and rocky cliffs. The cultivar name ‘Corticosa’ is from the Latin for abounding in bark / notable or pronounced.  In the second picture you can see the very knobbly bark. I have to admit that I’d not really noticed this before, shame on me for not paying attention.

Some of the small trees have grown a little large for most small gardens

I do appreciate that not all gardens, not even many gardens, are blessed with the space we enjoy at Wisley. Some of the small trees have been planted for over 100 years and would not attain this size in a normal garden. Even if too big to consider for your own garden, you can still enjoy seeing them here.

Picea abies ‘Ohlendorffii’ is known as the Ohlendorff’s Norway spruce. Seeds were obtained in Nikita, Crimea and sent to Theodor Ohlendorff, who had a Nursery in Hamberg, Germany in the early 1840s. It was introduced to commerce by Spath Nursery in 1904. The specific epithet is from the Latin for rising one, tall tree, which this isn’t!

Picea omorika ‘Pimoko’ is known as the Yugoslav fir or the Serbian spruce. Originally the tree was collected near the Serbian village of Zaovine, on Mount Tara in 1875. It was named by Josif Pancic, the Serbian botanist. This particular cultivar was raised in 1972 by the Wustemeyer Nursery in Germany and has the German name for a goblin. I rather like the idea of having a resident German goblin in the garden. I hope it’s a nice goblin and not too mischievous.

In the Alpine Display House lots of flowering plants were on show

There were many plants that I’ve included in earlier diaries so just four new ones. Dionysia mozaffarianii only has a few flowers but they sit on a tight cushion of leaves. The specific epithet was named in honour of Mr Valiolah Mozaffarian (b1953) an Iranian botanist. This species grows at 2500 – 2800m near Semirom in the Isfahan Province, Iran. There is also a Gypsophila mozaffarianii named for him as well.

Crassula columnaris subsp. prolifera  has the common name of leather button or shaving brush plant. It requires protection from winter wet as it’s a long way from its home in Southern Namibia, the Northern and Western Cape. All parts of the name are from the Latin crassus – thick, referring to thick or fleshy leaves, the specific epithet – columnar, pillar like. The subspecies name referring to proliferating profusely from the base. I liked the arrangements of the small rocks, it reminded me of a mini Stonehenge. It’s just me then.

Galanthus elwesii ‘Sims Early’ (Hiemalis Group) was named for Mr Donald Sims, from Foxton, Cambridge, England. The original bulbs came from Sir Frederick Claude Stern’s OBE, MC (1884 – 1967) garden; as several other snowdrops have. He was awarded his Military Cross for gallantry at the Battle of Beersheba, Palestine, in 1917. Also being promoted to the rank of Major for the same engagement. He started Highdown garden in 1910, in an old chalk pit. He was also a banker and botanist. Jane and Rod Leeds who live in Sussex, put this particular cultivar into commerce around 2000.

I always think the flowers of Massonia pustulata look like little sea anemones. The specific epithet is from the Latin for blisters or pustules which can be seen on the leaves. It can have white, yellow or pale pink flowers. Native to Namaqualand and the Cape provinces, it was the AGS plant of the month in December 2015. It is easily raised from seed and can flower within three years. Paul Cumbleton grew them successfully for a number of years in an unheated greenhouse at Wisley. I appreciate we don’t get as cold winters at Wisley as other parts of the UK do.

Some projects that have been completed this week

I never like removing plants in the garden but this Heptacodium miconioides had succumbed to honey fungus and so surgery was required. The pictures show the before, during and after. The first picture has the plant in the foreground, there is another one behind. This also might be suffering and further tests will be carried out before a decision is made on its future. The roots were completely gone and I’m surprised it had any leaves at all. It has looked slightly distressed for a couple of years. Plant health had confirmed honey fungus was present so it had to be removed. The honey fungus can been seen in the heart of all the stems, no wonder it was looking particularly sad.

On a more positive note, some additional rock work was added to the path edges. This replaces logs that had been there but had rotted over time. It was decided that rather than replace them with more wood, rocks would help tie the fern glade area into the rest of the rock garden.

Other tasks were completed this week, such as the potting up of several hundred Cyclamen coum seedlings which will eventually be planted in the coum bed. The seed was sown in August this year. The coum bed has been rather lacking a mass planting for a few years and this will help to restore this area to its former glory.

On this day, 22 November 1963

My visit this week was planned around the weather forecast, not the date, however it is particularly noteworthy. Not that I knew this until I looked it up. It is said that if you’re old enough you can remember where you were on this day in 1963, when the news broke that John F. Kenedy, the 35 US President (1961 – 63) had been shot in Dallas, Texas. I wont confess if I am old enough to remember that. At Wisley I’m delighted to be working with students and apprentices some of whom were born after the start of the new millennium. JFK is probably an abbreviation used on social media but I haven’t looked it up. We can speak the same language but with a different meaning.