8 hours Ago By [email protected] (William Warnes, PA, Maxine Denton)
Stunning magnolia displays have come out in full force at a National Trust garden in Cornwall thanks to sunshine and warmer temperatures recently. Trengwainton Garden near has been dipped in hues of pink following a week of continuous sunshine and milder temperatures, including a weekend that saw parts of the UK reach conditions warmer than some holiday hotspots. According to the National Trust, magnolias bloomed “a few weeks behind” last year and flowered early after a warm winter.
However, they later suffered significant damage from storms and frost, and many gardeners are declaring this year’s flowering as “right on time” or only slightly later than would be expected. Some places in Cornwall, such as Lanhydrock and Cotehele, have seen cold pockets, meaning magnolias are only at the beginning of their flowering, the Trust said. But other sites, such as Trengwainton Garden, are seeing things progress quicker, with the first of the garden’s 39 varieties of gigantic magnolias now laden with blooms and the towering 104-year-old magnolia campbellii also having just reached its peak.
It comes after gardener Millie Wykes shared the news of the blooming of six magnolia trees at the Great Gardens of Cornwall, which Karl Emeleus, head gardener for the National Trust at Killerton in Devon said: “We have seen many rapid changes in temperature over the winter months, going from very mild to very cold temperatures, at times within the span of only a few days. “This not only led some shrubs and trees, including even some of our cherries, to briefly flower out of season during particularly mild spells, but also meant that the real triggers for magnolias flowering hadn’t been sustained until recently, possibly leading to a small delay compared to previous years.” National Trust gardeners now keeping their fingers crossed for no late frosts that could risk spoiling the show.
Despite an expected drop in temperatures from Monday, magnolias are expected to hold up well, according to the organisation. The plants are expected to be more at risk in sudden changes such as when conditions drop below freezing. Mike Beeston, gardens and park consultant for the National Trust, said: “All winter long, the naked trees monitor the day length and temperature through their bark, helping to keep the flowers safe until the conditions allow them to flower.
Now, as you can finally feel the days getting longer and a bit warmer, it’s the perfect time to visit one of our gardens and see these majestic botanical wonders.” This promising start to the year has raised hopes of an equally positive season for traditional apple, pear and stone fruit blossom. Early varieties of these are expected to begin flowering later this month.
Wella Chubb, assistant head gardener for the National Trust at Trelissick Garden near , said: “This spring does look like it will be good for blossom in that there was plenty of rain over the late summer and early autumn, which is when some of the traditional spring shrubs such as rhododendrons and magnolias start to produce flower buds. The more moisture there is at that time of year, the bigger and lusher the flowers will be, which we’ll now be able to benefit from.” The magnolia displays come just weeks ahead of the start of the National Trust’s annual blossom campaign on March 20.
The campaign, part of the charity’s efforts to return blossoming trees to landscapes and to create a UK equivalent of Japan’s “hanami”, the popular traditional custom where people of all generations celebrate the transient beauty of blossom, will launch the day of the spring equinox..
