FIVE LATE SPRING LOVELIES

1 LABURNUM X WATERERI ‘VOSSII’

A small, deciduous tree that produces 12in pendulous clusters of yellow flowers. 2 RHODODENDRON ‘WINSTON CHURCHILL’ A large shrub with huge, round trusses of white flowers and long leaves with tactile, felt-like brown undersides.

3 SYRINGA ‘CHARLES JOLY’ Dating from 1896, this lilac carries wonderfully perfumed, double, dark purple flowers between May and June.

4 WISTERIA ‘MULTIJUGA’

This twining climber boasts lilac blue flowers with dark violet markings held in loose racemes up to 4ft in length.

5 PAEONIA MLOKOSEWITSCHII

The 3ft-high stems of this herbaceous peony carry bowl-shaped, yellow flowers, left, with golden stamens at their centre.