The best of buds
- patrickwiltshire3
- Mar 26, 2023
- 3 min read
Flowers are sometimes at their best when in their bud! Really? Let me explain.
One of my favourite times of the year in my Yorkshire garden is early spring. There's such a feeling of hope and anticipation outdoors. This hope is almost palpable when as a gardener, I see healthy lime-green leaves of perennials coming up for another year of flowering or hear the beautiful song of industrious birds preparing their nests.
Yes, it's pretty special, isn't it. One thing about gardening in spring that really floats my boat is seeing my favourite flowers and trees coming into bud.
In this blog I'll showcase five of my favourite flowers and trees that are in bud right now and making real visual impact before they're even in full bloom.
1) Magnolia stellata
In late March the flowers of star magnolia come out in big numbers from large buds a bit like the shape of brazil nuts. They’re highly tactile too. The buds are covered in a downy fur, pleasant to touch and attractive, especially against a clear blue sky in early spring. As you can well imagine!
At bud-break the linen-white petals come out tentatively eventually creating a spectacle. The white at bud-break is so untarnished and unspoilt it takes my breath away.
2) Euonymus alatus
Deciduous shrub Euonymus alatus takes centrestage at certain times of the year and one of those times is in early spring when it’s in bud and the leaves are poised to unfurl for the summer ahead.
What’s so special about it? Well- it’s the quirkiness. The stiff red buds have the curious habit of pointing out at all angles, some on the end of stems and others directly off the branches between the odd corky plates characteristic of this shrub.
The redness of the buds is practically an appetite-whetter for how red the leaves’ll get in autumn when Euonymus alatus puts on a striking fiery display.
3) Berberis darwinii
In early spring evergreen barberry is the life of the party then with its many flowers in bud; each cluster of flowers is a dead-ringer for a fork full of baked beans. Really? Yes- that’s why it gets the name ‘baked-bean plant’.
Before flowering the buds take on such an intense orange that the shrub always stops me in my tracks. Contrasting with the dark green of the leaves the buds make quite a statement in the garden.
I like the sound of it. What would I combine it with? I recommend Muscari grape hyacinths. The blues of this spring bulb look amazing with the bright-orange buds of Berberis.
4) Mahonia aquifolium
We continue the theme of intense colour with the evergreen shrub Oregon grape. That’s a nice name- is it a nice plant too? I'll say. In late March you might find yourself doing a double-take when you spot the bright yellow flower buds of Mahonia aquifolium.
I find it an admirable shrub. Why? - because it springs up in many unlikely spots where you’d think it wouldn’t survive. But it stills reveals its tufts of flowers in optimistic canary-yellow putting a smile on my face and a spring in my step.
4) Cytisus 'Boskoop Ruby'
Whenever I see the green stems of the garden shrub called ‘broom’ in late March or April it gets me excited for its spectacle of flowers in the on-coming months. Tell me more! The stems are laden with wine-red buds that look fantastic contrasting with the dark green upright stems.
Yes, broom will be glorious in full flower in May. Sounds lovely. But there’s something truly special about this time in early spring when it’s studded with maroon buds and keeping us in full suspense!
5) Skimmia japonica
I’ve banged on a lot about the visual merits of these plants. Now I want to praise a plant that’s in bud now that’s starting to give of such a captivating perfume I’d be remiss not to mention it!
Skimmias are just breaking into flower in late March and starting to fill our gardens with fine fragrance. Sounds heavenly! Yes - it is and it’s not just us appreciating it. Bees love skimmias and we as gardeners are really encouraging biodiversity into our gardens by giving a spot to a skimmia. A win for us, a win for the bees!
