April sees Marwood in Bloom
After the wettest March on record, April is beginning to bring some drier sunnier days with good displays of Magnolias and ever cheerful Camellias. Even after a late frost Camellias can be relied upon to give another flush of colourful flowers whereas Magnolias and Rhododendrons give one spectacular burst of flowers and that is it for the year.
What are charming are some of the new yellow flowering Magnolias. Two of the best are ‘Daphne’ and ‘Lois’ which towards the end of April light up the garden with lovely yellow flowers and not being huge trees they are suitable for most small gardens. They can be seen at the top of the gardens along with other magnolias which at this time of year is a rewarding walk to make. There have been a lot of new cultivars raised and introduced, many very similar and rather bland but ‘Daphne’ and ‘Lois’ are quite stunning.
After the snowdrops and daffodils the colour is blue with swaths of bluebells cascading down the valley under the trees and shrubs. Mid spring already and we are continuing developing our borders to plant new exciting plants. It has taken longer than we thought as the rain and cold has held us back and continuing wind brings down yet more branches to clear away. Very much two steps forward and one step back Still, it’s great to see our enthusiastic band of volunteers turn up for another days work to make the garden attractive for our garden visitors.
Already Rhododendrons are bursting into flower and the developing buds on the wisteria arbour are swelling to give a welcome display in May along with the wealth of herbaceous plants that are emerging and will soon be in flower.
