Saturday, March 24

Shrubby colour

The flowering shrubs are now adding to the colour and in some cases scents of our garden.

You may remember I have mentioned in earlier posts that we have a daphne shrub that appeared in our garden from nowhere. It nearly was weeded when it was tint but but something stopped me. It didn't look like a weed and in such cases I like to wait and see what happens.

Well eventually this happened:
Fortunately it has a very upright growth as the birds planted it on the very edge of a border tucked up against an arch. Too late to move it but in a way it means we can appreciate the scent.
I'd like to think that it was the birds way of saying thank you for feeding us but I guess I'm over-thinking. It does show though how you can plant the berries from a plant and end up with something special.

This other shrub was planted by us - it's a pieris - Forest Flame which was planted many years ago and is now quite a size.
At the moment it is dripping with flowers.
The clusters of bell like flowers remind me of bunches of grapes.
Then there's the camellias - the one that Martyn gave the hard chop to is flowering down the side that he didn't chop but most of the flowers are hiding at the back of the plant.
Hopefully this will 'green -up' at the front but how long will that take?
Then there is the one that really needs either moving of pruning.
What a dilemma!

The magnolia buds are also gradually opening - a few sunny days and it will be spectacular. Having so many flowers we tend to focus on the whole picture rather than individual flowers so I decided to take a close-up photo or two out of a bedroom window.
Individual buds are much pinkier than they look when fully open.
The shrub is certainly going to be loaded with flower again.


24 comments:

  1. the bell shape flowers is nice to look...., it resembles richness, abundance...

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    1. They are specially attractive as the plant is loaded with them Bangchik

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  2. I love magnolias, they are what I associate with the start of spring in London.

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  3. I'm enjoying your lovely blooms, Sue. We had snow again this week. March has been insanely cold this year. It's quite miserable. The clusters of flowers on the forest flame are so pretty! Cheers, Jenni

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    1. Snow Jenni? We've just come back from Northern Scotland and it has been like summer not at all what we expected!

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  4. There's lots of lovely colour there. Pieris always remind me of blueberry flowers, they're really similar.

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    1. The individual flowers do look exactly like blueberry flowers Jo.

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  5. Daphne cost a fortune in garden centres so you should think youself lucky the birds gave you a free one. Unfortunately our soil is alkaline so we can't grow pieris or camellia - and as our garden is only small I'm afraid there is no room for magnolia either. So it is nice to see someones garden that contain all three.

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    1. I really couldn't believe it when the daphne started to flower Elaine. I'm so glad that I didn't pull it up thinking it was a weed.

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  6. Oh thank you I really enjoyed admiring your flowers. The birds bring good seeds to your place.Though the white flowers were foxglove at first.

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    1. I can see why you may have thought that Diana.

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  7. What a lovely selection of flowers, great range of early flowering shrubs. Like Elaine, we don't have acid soil and ericaceous-loving plants are very unhappy here. We have an inherited Pieris which is in flower right now but it's a sickly looking thing.

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    1. Maybe it would be happy in a large tub or half barrel with an ericaceous mix BW - or is that going too far?

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  8. Hope you show a photo of the magnolia in full bloom...I love them!

    Your Pieris is awesome Dripping in Blooms and the Daphne..how fortunate you are to have it! What a fragrance and what a "welcome to our garden"...saying it with flowers.

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    1. I love looking out of the upstairs window and being amongst the magnolia flowers, Bren - especially as one of the windows is the room in which I iron - a job I hate. I'll take a photo specially for you!

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  9. Beautiful

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  10. All of a sudden the roads near us are lined with flowering trees and shrubs. I love this time of year. Don't you just wish the Magnolias flowered for a bit longer?

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    1. Spot on Mark! I just have to hope for it not to be windy or very wet when the flowers are all opening on the magnolia. It's the problem with lots of spring flowering trees isn't it?

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  11. gorgeous bloom! It's so lovely! I like the bell flowers. It reminds me of grapes too!

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  12. They do hang like grapes Malar

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  13. Lovely blooms...Spring always makes me smile!!

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    1. Me too Tanya but it's nothing like spring today!

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