Autumn Foliage

Liriodendron tulipifera

Just three trees in their full autumn glory.


Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip tree, a native of North America

Nyssa sylvatica High Beeches

Nyssa sylvatica High Beeches, tupelo tree.
This plant was awarded the First Class Certificate by the RHS

Quercus velutina

Quercus velutina, the black oak, a native of eastern North America

More Autumn Colour

Liquidamber styraciflua

Fothergilla major

Acer cercinatum

The Autumn is coming slowly and spectacularly.

Liquidamber styraciflua, sweet gum, from the Eastern US and introduced to the UK in 1884
is so dark that it photographs blue in the late afternoon light.






Fothergilla major, a slow growing shrub from the Alleghany Mountains is particularly vivid this year.










Acer circinatum one of the many Acers here at High Beeches.



The Garden is open from 11 am on Sunday 20th October and there is a Gift Fair in aid of Parkinsons UK

Early Autumn

Beautiful early autumn days in the garden.

A great year for berries, Sorbus, Symplocos, Euonymus and Clerodendrum are looking particularly fine.

Phellodendron lavallei, a native of Japan, giving a taste of the autumn colour to come at High Beeches Garden

A bed of cyclamen hederifolium planted under the Atlantic Cedar glowing in the autumn sunlight.



Autumn Gift Fair in aid of  Parkinsons UK
Sunday 20th October - 11 am
Plants for sale - Rapkyns Nursery

Disanthus cercidifolius

Abies koreana

Late Summer in the Garden

Gentian asclepiadea

The brilliant blue Gentian asclepiadea is in flower throughout the garden.  They are late flowering this year.  It is a clump forming herbaceous perennial and  has naturalised in the garden.  The only place it has done so in the UK.  It's common name is the willow gentian.

Aesculus parviflora

Aesculus parviflora (dwarf horse chestnut) is in flower and will be followed by good autumn colour.  It is a deciduous, suckering shrub from the South Eastern US.

Hydrangea Preziosa

Hydrangea Preziosa adds colour to the late summer.  It flowers rose pink turning to reddish-purple with age, followed by autumn colour.

Butterflies

Small Tortoiseshell



Silver washed Fritillary

Just three of the butterflies to be found at High Beeches.


The Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
often to be seen on Buddleia and Sedum flowers.  The caterpillars feed on nettles.







The Silver Washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) favours woodland and forest.  The caterpillars feed on violas.


Speckled Wood

The Speckled Wood (Parage aegeria) prefers shady woodland.  The caterpillar is green with a darker strip down the back and feeds on various grasses.

Stewartia rostrata

 Stewartia rostrata


Stewartia rostrata was first collected by Ernest Wilson and introduced to the US via China in l936.  The immature fruits and foliage are tinged red and autumn colour can be scarlet.  It makes a fine tree reaching up to 7 metres in height. 

Stewartia pseudo-camellia

 

Stewartia pseudocamellia (Theaceae)



A native of Japan and introduced by Messrs Veitch to the UK.  It was previously cultivated in the US and France where it flowered for the first time in 1878.

A beautiful medium sized tree bearing glamourous, camellia like flowers with yellow anthers in mid summer.  It has distinctive peeling bark and good autumn colour too.
 A superb speciman tree.

Mid Summer Beauties

Crinodendron hookeranum

Four plants to be found in flower in June at High Beeches Garden.



Crindodendron hookeranum a native of Chile and introduced by William Lobb in 1848.  A large shrub requiring lime free soil and partial shade. 





Styrax hemsleyana

Styrax hemsleyana a beautiful small tree from China introduced by E H Wilson in 1900.


Picea brewerana



Rhododendron Margaret Falmouth

Young growth and flowers on Picea brewerana. A medium sized conical tree Brewer's weeping spruce is probably one of the most beautiful of the spruces.  It was introduced from NW California in 1891 and is rare in the wild








Rhododendron Margaret Falmouth.  A late flowering hybrid rhododendron (Rh.griffithianum x Rh auriculatum).  A big shrub with large white scented flowers.

Bonsai Weekend

 

The Sussex Bonsai Group will be at High Beeches on Saturday/Sunday 22nd/23rd June.

 

There will be many prize winning plants on display and Members of the Group will be giving demonstrations of how to create and care for these beautiful miniature trees and shrubs.  Ken Norman, one of  the Sussex Bonsai Group members has won Gold Medals at Chelsea Flower Show and is a judge for the RHS.

 

Magnolias and Davidia



Davidia involucrata

The garden is ablaze with the colour of many azaleas.
Amongst all the colour there are some rare beauties to be found.  The famous Davidia involucrata also known as the dove or handkerchief tree.  The Davidia is a deciduous tree with vivid green leaves and the distinguishing bracts from which each flower is subtended.  It is a native of central and western China and was first discovered by the Abbe David in 1869 but was not introduced to Europe until l897 when one seed was germinated.  It flowered for the first time at Les Barres in l906.

Magnolia wilsonii

Magnolia wilsonii is a deciduous shrub with white, pendulous flowers in May and June.  A native of China it was introduced by Wilson in 1908 and is one of the most beautiful of his introductions




Magnolia sieboldii

Magnolia sieboldii, also known as the Oyama magnolia, is a large wide spreading shrub, the nodding flowers are egg shaped in bud, are white, fragrant and appear intermittently from May to August.  It is a native of  Japan and Korea and was introduced in l865.  Unlike many Magnolias it will do well in chalky soil.

Rhododendron Loderi in Flower

 Rhododendron Loderi King George in full flower looking magnificent and smelling wonderful too.

Some yellow Rhododendrons in flower at High Beeches

Rh. Hawk

 Just a taste of some of the stunning yellow Rhododendrons in flower at High Beeches at the moment.  It is an especially good year for them.

The garden is looking particularly beautiful now.  The primroses are still in flower amongst the bluebells and the camellias are late to flower and so have not been damaged by frost.
The Loderi Rhodendrons are filling the garden with their sweet scent along with Rhododendron johnstoneanum.


Rhododendron Hotei
One of the best yellows



Rh campylocarpum

Rh wightii

A great place to see Rhododendrons

Rhododendron Matador

'Rhodos rule' an article by Robin Lane Fox, in the Financial Times on Saturday 11th May, extolling the virtues of the Rhododendron.   He advocates visiting some well known Rhododendron gardens to see the Rhodos in their full glory.
Many of the Rhodos he mentions can also be seen here at High Beeches Garden including many of those bearing the Loder name.

High Beeches is the original Loder Garden.  The Loder Family bought High Beeches in the 1860's and continued to garden here until l968 when the Boscawens bought the garden and it is now managed by High Beeches Gardens Conservation Trust.

Three beauties. Rhododendron hybrids Moonstone, Elsae and Elizabeth

Rhododendrons on Forrest's Bank
Amongst them are Rhodo russatum and Rhodo campylogynum

These are just some of the stunning Rhodos to be seen at High Beeches.

Camellias and Magnolias

Camellia williamsii Donation
perhaps the most beautiful camellia raised this century

Two camellias and two magnolias looking their best in the Garden at the moment.

There is so much to see - the garden changes everyday.

It is an extraordinary year for primroses and cowslips.  There are literary carpets of primroses and there have never been so many cowslips in the meadow.  It promises to be a superb year for the native wildflowers and the bluebells will be in full flower next week.

Camellia reticulata



Magnolia Alexandrina 

There are more Rhododenrons out every day;
Rh. niveum, Rh. sino grande, Rh. thomsonii,
Rh. Jenny, Rh. fargesii, Rh. morii, Rh. calophytum, Rh. reticulatum, Rh. Queen Wilhemina,  Rh.caloxanthum, Rh. uvarifolium,
Rh Barclay Fox to name just a few.






The later flowering magnolias have survived the frost and are looking glorious.  In addition to these two Magnolia stellata, Magnolia kobus, Magnolia lennei, Magnolia Star Wars and Magnolia veitchii are in full flower.

Magnolia Leonard Messel 

Some Magnificent Rhododendrons

Three big leafed rhododendrons in flower in the gardens.  Two species, Rh. calophytum, Rh. macabeanum and a hybrid Rh. macabeanum x montroseanum.  Rh. calophytum is a native of West China and Tibet and was discovered by Abbe David and introduced to the UK by Ernest Wilson in 1904.  It is an evergreen tree which can grow to 15 metres.  Rh. macabeanum is a native of the Himalayas and was introduced to the UK by Frank Kingdom Ward, also evergreen it too can grow to 15 metres.  Rh. Macabeanum x montroseanum was hybridised at the Saville Gardens, Windsor and given to High Beeches where it is now well established and producing large flowers.



Rhododendron calophytum







Rhododendron macabeanum

Rh macabeanum x montroseanum

Visitors to the Garden

A Comma Butterfly - Polygonia c-album

Spring has brought visitors to the garden.  The first butterflies including a comma and a peacok.

  

Clients and Staff from Aldingbourne Country Centre

 Clients from Aldingbourne Country Centre came for their annual visit to see the Daffodils flowering.  They planted a thousand bulbs last year.  The Daffodils are putting on a good display this year.

Harris Hawk from Breck Falconry

Breck Falconry were in the garden for their first display of the year.  The birds and visitors were enjoying the good weather on Saturday.
They return for another display and Hawk Walks on Saturday 15th June