Martin Blowers, a volunteer with the Friends of Morrab Gardens, writes here about some of the plants to look out for in the Gardens in March and April.
There are so many botanical delights to encounter around every bend and corner at Morrab Gardens. The most surprising is the range and number of New Zealand native plants which have been able to adapt to the Garden’s microclimate. The Hebes, Phormiums and Cordylines are the ones we are most familiar with in this part of Britain. They were the most popular mid to late 20th Century municipal plantings. They are useful because they establish quickly and are evergreen.
New Zealand Honeysuckle
However there are many others which have been introduced into Morrab in past decades. One of the more notable is the Knightia excelsa (after the British plant physiologist Thomas Knight, 1758 – 1838). In its native New Zealand it is known as NZ Honeysuckle or its Maori name rewarewa. This tall pyramidal tree is situated near the eastern boundary and more or less in front of the bench closest to the entrance from St Mary’s Terrace.
It flowers and seeds profusely at Morrab and has been quietly spreading seedlings near its base. It is a member of the Protea family, has lance-like dark green serrated leaves, heavily felted reddish-brown buds resulting in red flowers (April onwards) held in a dense raceme up to 5 inches long. The specimen in Morrab is already 20 feet (6 metres) high and its eventual height is likely to be over 50ft (16 metres). In New Zealand the tree is a prominent nectar source for many native birds. Especially the tui who regularly display signs of drunkenness with wayward flight paths during the peak flowering period! It is also a significant source of delicious honey. Maori use it for Rongoa Herbal Medicine and its timber is highly prized for ornamental work.
Fragrant white flowers
A flourishing delight at the moment is the Michelia doltsopa which, if we are lucky with the weather, will continue flowering into April. It is now loaded with fragrant white flowers and brown felted buds on sparsely leaved branches. It is situated on the opposite side of the path to the Knightia excelsa previously mentioned. If you happen to walk past it on a reasonably warm afternoon in the next few weeks, gently draw a branch down to nose level and take in the exquisite perfume. It is named after the Florentine botanist Pietro Antonio Micheli (1679 -1737). Michelias are now considered to be a sub-genus of Magnolia. Michelia doltsopa is native in the eastern Himalayas which explains why it is one of the more cold tolerant of the sub-genus.
The Michelias as a group are found in tropical and sub-tropical Asia. Many of them will happily grow to 60 to 100 feet in their natural habitat. A number of them are more compact with smaller leaves, and can be restricted further with careful pruning. I have seen closely planted Michelia yunnanensis (Magnolia laevifoliua) clipped regularly to provide a beautifully fragrant hedge to about 6ft.
image sources: (click to expand)
- Knightia excelsa: © Friends of Morrab Gardens | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International
- Michelia doltsopa: © Friends of Morrab Gardens | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International
