Exbury Gardens' head gardener John Anderson is hailing the 2015 display of magnolias as the most exciting in his 10 year tenure, and advises that the display will be at its best for the next ten days.
"I’d urge visitors to get to Exbury quickly to see the show. We have been busy over the early Easter holidays and our visitors have all been flocking to see the magnolias with cameras in hand.
"We have been fortunate this spring not to have had many frosts, which damage the magnolias, so this is a great year to see them. Unlike the camellias, which throw up buds over a period of time, magnolias flower en masse and one heavy frost can see the end of their flowering season," John Anderson said.
Stars of the show include two magnolias very close to the visitor entrance – the sky piercing Magnolia veitchii and the large blooms of Magnolia 'Apollo'.
"These magnolias definitely have the wow factor," said John. "Their pink blooms set against a blue sky are one of the wonders of spring. Elsewhere we have other magnolia walks in the Home Wood area of the Gardens, with Magnolia soulangeana ‘Alexandrina’ in full flower and the smaller flowers of Magnolia stellata ‘Star Wars’ putting on a wonderful display behind rows of camellias on the New Camellia Walk."
Exbury Gardens, in the New Forest, near Beaulieu, has over 150 different types of magnolia, many of them mature specimens, with blooms ranging from white and yellow to shades of pink and purple.
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