It’s almost April, the most prolific month for trees that grow perfect blossoms–“perfect” means they have both male and female reproductive organs in one flower.
The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival has begun with the Big Picnic and the Blossoms After Dark events. Much more to come. Here to enjoy the excitement are
(1) Prunus ‘Snow Goose’; there is a row of them edging Ceperley Meadow, west of the Pitch & Putt in Stanley Park;
(2) Prunus ‘Umineko’
It is official: it’s spring. And yes, it has been raining buckets.
As I go by a mound of fragrant daphne, Daphne odora, I have to go back and smell again. A heady fragrance that is so pleasurable beside an entrance, stairs, a path. The dark-green evergreen leaves are simple, pointed at both ends, but the four-petalled flowers range from pale to deep pink, and they smell wonderful.
In our lane, the magnolias are blooming again: star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) and saucer magnolia
It is official: it’s spring. And yes, it has been raining buckets.
As I go by a mound of fragrant daphne, Daphne odora, I have to go back and smell again. A heady fragrance that is so pleasurable beside an entrance, stairs, a path. The dark-green evergreen leaves are simple, pointed at both ends, but the four-petalled flowers range from pale to deep pink, and they smell wonderful.
In our lane, the magnolias are blooming again: star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) and saucer magnolia
It’s always a treat to come across turkey tail mushrooms growing on tree stumps.
I came across two clusters this week; this is the most colourful one, even though it is only various browns edged with white.
With the scientific name of Trametes versicolor, this is one of the most studied of the fungi. It is saprotropic, which means it decomposes what it grows on–wood. Turkey tail is well known in traditional health practices in China and Japan, because it benefits our immune health.
In
Imagine coming around the corner and seeing this magnolia tree in full bloom! In early March! It is a Magnolia ‘Caerhays Belle’, apparently a cross between M. sargentiana var. robusta and M. sprenger ‘Diva’. Oregon State University’s Landscape Plants says the cross was developed at Caerhays Castle, Cornwall, England, and introduced into North America in 1972. This particular tree was planted in 1999.
So I went looking. Caerhays Estate has a lovely website flush with photographs