Susie’s Garden
Cherry is not the only type of tree that bears spectacular blossom in spring, as our expert explains…
There’s a young cherry tree blooming in our garden right now, its fragile petals fluttering in the breeze. Cherry blossom is so lovely and so fleeting that it is celebrated all over the world, and especially in Japan.
There, the cherry blossom viewing festival is known as hanami, and friends and families picnic under the trees. It’s so important in their culture that the opening of the flowers is announced alongside the weather forecast and there is even a tradition of night viewing with lanterns hanging from the trees.
One of the best places to see cherries blooming in the UK is at the Alnwick Garden in Northumberland where there is an orchard of 350 trees. These are “Tai Haku”, also known as the great white cherry, a medium-sized tree with a broad spreading crown so it needs room to grow. It has pure white single flowers and the leaves turn a bronzered colour in autumn.
For a small garden, you could try Prunus incisa “The Bride” which has delicate single white flowers, pale pink in the bud. It flowers profusely and its leaves turn orange and red in autumn. It looks very pretty underplanted with bulbs.
Camellias are flowering now, too. These need an acid soil so, if your soil is not acidic, you can grow them in ericaceous compost in a container and water them with rainwater; tap water in areas of hard water is not good for them except for a short period. Camellias are woodland plants so they need shelter, light shade and a soil that is enriched with leaf mould. With large blooms, ranging from white through pink to red, they are
very romantic flowers.
Another shrub that needs a sheltered site is the magnolia. Some can grow very tall but there are others that make wonderful specimens in a small garden. I especially love the classic white-flowered Magnolia stellata for its star-shaped flowers and furry buds. Or there is the variety called “Jane Platt” which has double, scented pale pink flowers with narrow, starry petals. So whether you prefer cherry blossom, camellias or magnolias, there’s a tree or shrub perfect for celebrating spring.