Spring In Ireland April 2020 Part 3

The inevitable blossom drop. The pink blossoms are from the Prunus ‘Kanzan’ on the left. It is really in full show for two weeks before the petals fall. This one must be 6 meters tall at this stage and is thriving. Please forgive the leaning tree. We will deal with that this year!

Another cherry, this time Prunus avium ‘Plena’ or double gean according to the RHS. We have five of these of various heights and ages. Like the other cherries there are always masses of flower. Seems to like drier conditions as the largest of ours is in a dry corner.

Blackcurrant. I have no idea which variety these are. These are very easy to grow and take up very little time or effort. Although picking the fruit before the birds pick it clean is something I need to get better at.

Apple blossoms. It might be a good year for apples. I have never seen as many blossoms on the apple trees. We have four varieties that I’ll expand on in later posts. I bought these to have an “orchard” but I haven’t have much luck with it in terms of cropping. Maybe this year if I give it a bit more attention.

Bergen cordiality ‘Purpurea’ or Elephants ears. This is a funny old plant. As tough as old boots and tolerates the thick clay that masquerades as soil in our garden. I got this from a cutting my father gave me from his garden.

Polygonatum x hybridium or Solomon’s seal. I bought these last year but only planted them a couple of weeks ago. Apparently the arching stems can get to 1.2m. Lovely creamy white flowers on it at the moment.

Another angle of the pink magic carpet created by the cherry blossoms. I never get tired of these trees. They seem to announce that winter is well and truly over and that spring is has fully taken hold. The cherry blossoms always fill me with hope. Their message seems to be that nature always prevails and is always there for us if we look. They almost demand our attention, unwilling to be ignored like a petulant child. But then almost as quickly as it started the show is over, the cherry bows out, exits the stage and allows the late spring and early summer performers to strut their stuff.