Magnolia Week

Our tiny Magnolia stellata flowers at last in week 2010/16, and this is the week when so many other low plants begin to develop green buds. Forsythia is still at the height of bloom. It is handy to have several of them at the back of screens, where it can still be easily admired through the bare twigs in the foreground. Later those bare twigs will fill with growth. The Nipponanthemum nipponicum resembles Hydrangea macrophylla at this stage, with fleshy green buds quickly unfolding on the branches. Lilies have had a lucky start this year, with very little slug damage, but the Tulipa seem a tad late, only beginning to bloom late in this week. On April 19, one of the garden denizens, Flecki the rabbit, dies of a heart attack just after he has been syringed at the vet's. No doubt his odour tags will persist for a few weeks and be noticed by his surviving brother, rabbit Chip.