Rosemoor is really beginning to bloom this month. Early spring flowerers such as hellebores are putting on a lovely show and pulmonarias and primulas are adding colour to the shady borders. Our magnificent magnolias are breaking into flower, the Alpine glasshouse is home to many little gems and the Vegetable Garden glasshouse is already filled with the fragrance of narcissi.
Anemone nemorosa is one of our favourite woodlanders although it can be invasive if not kept in check. The pretty, deeply dissected leaves put on an attractive show on their own but contrast charmingly with the simple white flowers which are often flushed with pink. These will bloom until shaded out by the tree canopy.
Azara microphylla is a large evergreen shrub producing clusters of greenish-yellow flowers that have a fragrance of vanilla. These are set off by glossy, dark green leaves. It can tolerate full shade but grows well against a wall. At Rosemoor we have specimens in the Croquet Lawn beds in Lady Anne’s Garden and in the Retaining Wall beds in front of the visitor reception.
The marsh marigold or kingcup (Caltha palustris) brightens up any damp or boggy area and can be relied upon to produce large, shiny, sunshine yellow buttercup flowers every spring. Even when not in flower, the kidney shaped dark green leaves contrast with the leaves of other marginal plants such as the strapped shaped leaves of Iris. At Rosemoor we grow them as marginal plants in the Rock Gully, the Lake Area and in the Upper Bog Garden. However, they can be grown as border plants provided the soil is kept damp.
Cardamine trifolia is a creeping perennial that thrives in the cool shade of the Rock Gully. The racemes of white flowers rise above a cushion of dark green leaves. The flowers are shown off to their best advantage against a dark background such as the green/purple leaved-rhododendron illustrated.
A member of the witch hazel family, Corylopsis sinensis var. calvescens forma veitchiana AGM is a large shrub that produces pendant, bell-shaped green/yellow flowers with brick red anthers before the leaves emerge. This is an acid lover and does well in the Lake area and the Stream Garden Field here at Rosemoor.
Helleborus x hybridus is just one of the many beautiful Helleborus cultivars that we have in the garden. Best planted in drifts in humus-rich soil, it is most at home in woodland settings. You will find flowers that are such a deep purple that they are almost black, ranging to pure white and every shade in between. Some are speckled, such as the cultivar illustrated, and some are single coloured – the variety is almost infinite. We cut out the old leaves in November/December to show the flowers off to their best advantage. The fresh new leaf growth contrasts with the pendant, or sometimes outward facing, cup shaped flowers.
The 'summer snowflake', Leucojum aestivum, is related to the snowdrop but it is larger and flowers later. The bell-shaped white flower petals are tipped with a single yellow/green spot. The flowers are set among strap-shaped, glossy, dark green leaves and will form large clumps if planted in reliably moist, humus-rich soil. Look out for them in the Lake Area, the Rock Gully, the Shrubbery and on the Woodland Walk.
Magnolia kobus is just one of the many magnificent magnolias we have growing in the more sheltered parts of the garden. This deciduous tree has goblet-shaped white flowers which emerge from soft hairy buds in profusion, before the leaves. This is another tree that benefits from the shelter of the Woodland Walk and the Shrubbery and some have also been placed in the South Arboretum.
Primula vulgaris AGM, the common primrose has, appropriately enough, been adopted as the Devon County Flower, and here at Rosemoor, it certainly lives up this designation. Banks, especially along the Woodland Walk, are covered with this delightful wild flower mixed with celandines, windflower, Scilla, Narcissus bubocodium and N. cyclameinus.
The common name for Lysichiton americanus AGM is skunk cabbage but the odour is not as bad as it sounds! The small green flowers have a musky smell and are surrounded by bright yellow spathes, looking slightly out of this world and always a talking point for our visitors. We have it growing next to the stream and lake where it has plenty of room for the large glossy leaves to develop later in the year.
Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’ AGM is a small conical pear tree that is smothered in white blossom in early to mid spring. It is a perfect tree for the small garden as the spread is limited, it has beautiful blossom and has good autumn colour. At Rosemoor we have a beautiful specimen situated in the Westcountry Town Garden in the Model Gardens.
A great favourite with us at Rosemoor, Trillium kurabayashii successfully self-seeds in the Stream Field, Lake Field and in Lady Anne’s Garden. It is unusual looking with deep maroon flowers and purple and green mottled leaves. If you put this plant in your garden, expect to wait a few years before you get a good clump; but it is well worth the wait.