Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
Where to find MAGNOLIA MAGIC
They start bursting into glorious bloom right now – and here are the best places to enjoy them...
One of the most exciting things about early spring is seeing magnol ias gradua l ly unfurl. First the furry buds start to crack open, showing tantalising streaks of colour, until a sunny day finally causes them to burst open, revealing those astonishingly luxurious waxy flowers in white, cream, purple, pink or yellow.
Magnolias are among the earliest flowering trees in evolutionary terms and were growing in Europe, America and Asia over 100 million years ago; today they are only indigenous to southern China and the southern
US. Named in the 18th century after the French botanist Pierre Magnol, they can be trees or shrubs and either deciduous or evergreen. Most of them need a lot of space – the biggest ones reach a towering 15m (50ft) – but urban gardeners can grow magnolias too, if they choose a relatively petite one like the shrubby white Magnolia stellata, which grows to a mere 3m (10ft).
They may look far too exotic for our chilly northern climate but magnolias are ful ly hardy, although the buds can be damaged by frosts. In parts of the West Country they start flowering in mid- February; in other areas of the UK March and April are usually the peak time for them. Here are some of the loveliest gardens in which to see one of spring’s great flowering displays.
With its mild, moist climate, Cornwall is magnolia heaven, and the most dazzling display is at Caerhays Castle Garden (caerhays.co.uk). With more than 170 magnolia cultivars in the 140-acre garden, Caerhays is a really spellbinding sight in spring. Other Cornish gardens with impressive magnolia collections are
Trewithen (trewithengardens.co.uk),
Trewidden (trewiddengarden.co.uk), Glendurgan and Trengwainton (both National Trust, nationaltrust.org.uk).
At the 56-acre Batsford Arboretum in Gloucestershire ( batsarb. co.uk), March is the time to see around 100 different types of magnolia as well as aconites, daffodils and flowering cherries.
Great Comp in Kent (greatcompgarden. co.uk), well known for its late summer borders, is also a great place for spring colour; there are more than 80 magnolias representing 50 different varieties in this seven-acre garden. In Hampshire, the 180-acre Sir Harold Hillier Gardens (hilliergardens. org.uk, garden not open until 1 April) has more than 350 magnolias and is famed for its Magnolia Avenue, which is a sea of white, pink and purple flowers in spring.
In Surrey, RHS Wisley (rhs.org.uk) has a superb collection of magnolias, including unusual yellow varieties such as ‘Elizabeth’, ‘Yellow Lantern’ and ‘Gold Star’. The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London ( kew.org) has more than 250 magnolias, including M. campbellii. Most of them are in the arboretum and many are at least 100 years old. Borde Hill in West Sussex ( bordehill. co.uk, garden not open until 1 April) has over 100 magnolias too, representing 25 species, throughout the 200-acre garden. Visitors can book for a talk on magnolias at the garden on 5 April. Bodnant in Conwy (nationaltrust. org.uk) has more than 500 magnolias in its 80 acres of garden, many of them ancient specimens which thrive in sheltered areas of the borders and the dell. And proving that magnolias can grow in the north of England, 50-acre Wentworth Castle Gardens in Yorkshire (wentworthcastle.org) has a National Collection of them, containing more than 100 species. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, 24-acre Logan Botanic Garden in Dumfries and Galloway (rbge.org.uk) also has an impressive magnolia display in March and April.