I was looking through the photos I took of the garden last weekend when I realised I took enough photos of what's currently in bloom in the garden to participate in this month's Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.
Here are just a few of what's currently in bloom in our garden, in this beautiful spring month of April...
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| Podophyllum hexandrum has flowered for us for the first time this year and I was pleasantly surprised how delicate the blooms are. The blooms close during the night |
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| We grow Staphylea holocarpa 'Rosea' for its foliage and form but the flowers in the spring are a bonus. |
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| The Chocolate Vine, Akebia quinata is in full force flowering in our garden at the moment. |
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| It took awhile but we love the way it is now starting to wrap up on the big tree at the bottom of our garden, as well as the fences behind it. |
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| Magnolia stellata - a common garden plant here but it is popular for a very good reason... |
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| How could one not love this plant when it produces such a display in the spring? |
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| Another plant we grow for the foliage but the dainty blooms in the spring look rather sweet - Mukdenia rossii |
We join Bloom Day for the first time and is hosted by May Dreams Gardens where all the links to blooming posts are to be found.
Mark :-)
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
I just mastered the concept of "throwback thursday" and now I find there's a "garden bloggers bloom day"???
ReplyDeleteThere is and it's been on going for awhile :) not to worry, we only joined for the first time today!
DeleteYou have me intrigued with your Mukdenia Rossii and I love your dainty Staphylea, I didn't realise it bloomed so early.
ReplyDeleteThe leaves of the Mukdenia will get even bigger as the season progress, and the blooms of the Staphylea are a nice bonus in the spring :)
DeleteA very nice post for your first GBBD. All that great foliage plus you get beautiful spring blooms. The Magnolia may be common but those blooms are a standout in any garden.
ReplyDeleteIndeed Shirley! That Magnolia is a stalwart, and blooms so profusely even as a young/small specimen :)
DeleteWhat interesting things you have going on there Mark ! With the exception of the Magnolia, these are all things rarely seen in my area. Thanks for sharing them !
ReplyDeleteA pleasure :) Most, if not all of them should be hardy in your area too!
DeleteEven those of us who are all about foliage get excited over a few blossoms, don't we?
ReplyDeleteIndeed Ricki :) We love our foliage but appreciate the presence of flowers!
DeleteWe so seldom see pictures of flowers in your garden, since you guys are usually all about the foliage. Nice! Welcome to GBBD!
ReplyDeleteWe do have them too Alison, and so glad to have finally joined :)
DeleteI didn't know Staphylea had such pretty flowers. Welcome to GBBD!
ReplyDeleteThank you Evan! :)
DeleteFun to see a focus on flowers on your blog. Bloomday is such an nice excuse to focus on them.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Loree!
DeleteHello Mark and Gaz,
ReplyDeleteWhat a simply lovely collection of Spring blooms you delight us with here.
The Podophyllum is beautifully exotic with such a delicate pure white flower. It looks truly magnificent, the snowy white against the glossy green foliage, and must be such a thrill to be seen flowering by you for the first time. Joy!
And, as you say, who could fail to have their spirits lifted by the sight of the Magnolia Stellata. Yours looks wonderful. These brave flowers against the bare branches make such a welcome appearance at this early point in the gardening year.
Thanks Jane and Lance! Magnolia stellata is such a great garden plant, a reliable performer and unfussy too. So glad that we have them in the garden. The Podophyllum was a nice surprise and bonus this spring.
DeleteThe Magnolia stellata has been out in the Capel grounds for a few weeks now so I expect it will be all over by the time we go back after the Easter break - a truly beautiful tree but the flowering is relatively short lived. I love seeing your chocolate vine spreading over the fencing; again at college, the vine grows over a gazebo structure which doesn't really show it off; love seeing it spread so the flowers can be seen!
ReplyDeleteIt took awhile for that chocolate vine to establish Caro but lo and behold, when I spotted it last weekend I was surprised how well it's done. Just shows how much attention we've given it last year :) But now I've been checking it out everytime I get the chance and I'm in that area.
DeleteJust wished Magnolia blooms lasted longer!
I do like the podophyllum or is it sinopodophyllum? has it been renamed? one question about it, does it keep its leaves all summer like the other podo's?
ReplyDeleteHi Jon, I'm not sure, it could have been actually and I've been reading both genus names being used on various sources. I know Paul Barney (Edulis) uses the name Sinopodophyllum already. The one on the pic is a potted plant (left outside all winter) but we have a few on the ground and they all keep their leaves (and put out more) until late summer. The one we observe to disappear rather quick, by late spring is Podophyllum peltatum.
DeleteLovely blooms and you should join each month. It's not just about flowers but the blooming of your foliage. :)
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Thanks Cher and so true :)
DeleteThose blooms are beautiful!! I like magnolias not only for their blooms, the foliage also is exotic for me because the leaves are big and green, not very usual in the landscape at mediterranean areas. I love that podophyllum bloom!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the foliage of Magnolias too Lisa, which we do as well :)
DeleteThere is a very attractive cream flowered form of Akebia quinata that's well worth looking for. I was at Lanhydrock a couple of weeks ago and it's growing over the old potting shed.
ReplyDeleteI do like that Podophyllum. I've lost 'Spotty Dotty' due to slugs so, like my hostas, future purchases will need to be pot grown if I'm going to keep them.
We're still on the look out for that cream/white flowered Akebia John :) They do look great!
DeleteMark, wow, I know that your garden is famous for its foliage plants, but it is not short on very interesting blooms either. I guess, usually you are holding back on those ;-)! I absolutely love the dainty bloom of Podophyllum Hexandrum. Never even heard of the plant! You always surprise me with something new on your blog, which I truly enjoy.
ReplyDeleteYour are completely right about the Magnolia Stellata. How could you not love this plant!
Wishing both of you happy spring days!
Christina
And you too Christina! We're not always good at capturing blooms in our garden at their prime, we ought to make more effort in that really :)
DeleteThe Akebia is choice - I wish I could find the right place to try one. I didn't even know that Mukdenia bloomed and now find that maybe I really do have to experiment with keeping one of those alive. A belated happy GBBD!
ReplyDeleteKeep trying with the Mukdenia Kris, it's a fab plant!
DeleteGood to see your April blooms. Most envious of your chocolate vine which I've tried to establish to clamber over allotment fence without success. Off to check whether my mukdenia is in flower yet come daylight.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anna! It took awhile for the Akebia to establish but I'm glad to see that finally it looks happy and settled in its spot.
DeleteLoving the Podophyllum. And properly hardy if you leave it out all winter.
ReplyDeleteIndeed Jessica :) you ought to try it in your garden, I suspect it will love your conditions!
DeleteI really like that Mukdenia rossii - and of course I am a fellow magnolia stellata fan... I used to grow Akebia quinata on the pergola in my previous garden, but got fed up of how tatty the foliage got over winter. It would probably stay evergreen here, I wonder how it would feel about clambering up a griselina...
ReplyDelete