Flowering Magnolia trees mean Spring has arrived in Cornwall! Gardeners at six of the Great Gardens of Cornwall watch their champion magnolia trees as the blossom unfolds, and when all six have at least 50 blooms open, the start of Spring is officially declared.
During Spring and early Summer the flowering magnolias at Morrab Gardens steal the show, and the selection we grow here ensure a long flowering period. They include Magnolia soulangeana ‘Atropurpurea’ and ‘Rustica Alba’ and Magnolia campbellii. These magnolias have an attractive spreading profile, naturally pruned by the prevailing wind.
The area around the bandstand is a popular meeting place, a spot where people come at lunchtime, or to bring their children to play. For this is a real sun-trap, sheltered by a dense planting of evergreen oaks which form a backdrop to a Magnolia grandiflora ‘Goliath’.
Growing against the wall of the Morrab Library by the raised succulents bed is a Magnolia grandiflora. It is said that this magnolia used to be trained in the shape of a cross and was used as navigational marker by sailors out in Mount’s Bay.
This year, the start of Spring was on Valentine’s Day, 14th February. Here at Morrab Gardens we’re up there with the best of them, and here are just a few of the magnificent flowering Magnolias that have already been showing-off in the Gardens for several days.
image sources: (click to expand)
- pink magnolia tree in bud: © Friends of Morrab Gardens | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International
- pink magnolia flowers in bloom: © Friends of Morrab Gardens | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International
- pink magnolia tree in bloom: © Friends of Morrab Gardens | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International
- white magnolia tree in bloom: © Friends of Morrab Gardens | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International
