What’s looking good at RHS Rosemoor?

It’s cherry blossom time! RHS Rosemoor has a wonderful collection of Japanese flowering cherry trees, with some of our oldest planted by Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram – the man who saved many Japanese cherries from extinction. There are delightful specimens to see in the Cherry Garden, including Prunus ‘Jō-nioi’ creating a heavenly cloud of scented white blossom, and P. ‘Royal Burgundy’, with its rose-pink blooms against deep reddish-purple foliage. Our beautiful Prunus ‘Tai-haku’, the great white cherry, is one of the surviving cherries raised and planted by Ingram.

In the Woodland Garden in April you’ll find yourself surrounded by outrageously colourful azaleas, including shocking pink Rhododendron ‘Hinode-giri’. Softening the colour palette at ground level, walk among carpets of white Anemone nemorosa and the delicate yellows and blues of primroses and Chionodoxa. The gorgeous light pink flowers of a recently planted Melliodendron xylocarpum (Chinese parasol tree) open up this month. This rarely grown species is a treat to see in bloom. Sitting above the path, its drooping star-shaped flowers are best appreciated from below.

As the garden comes alive with spring colour, nothing can compete with our magnolias for impact. Now at their peak, their magnificent blooms draw you in to admire more closely. Magnolia salicifolia ‘Wada’s Memory’ forms a wonderful backdrop to the Foliage Garden. In Lady Anne’s Garden, the oak canopy offers protection from frost, hopefully leaving the blooms undamaged. Planted either side of the path, Magnolia stellata ‘King Rose’ and Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Burgundy’ act like beacons, guiding you on to discover others.

In the romantic Cottage Garden the flowering season starts with joyful displays of spring bulbs. As daffodils fade this month, tulips take their turn to shine, bringing dazzling colour to pots and borders. We use just one type of tulip per pot to create impact. Cultivars include dark and moody Tulipa ‘Queen of Night’, ‘Salmon Impression’ and pure white ‘Honeymoon’ with its lovely fringed petals. Early-flowering plants, such as purple Hesperis matronalis (dame’s violet), provide welcome food for emerging butterflies and bumblebees.

Get ready for our apple blossom season! RHS Rosemoor is home to around 120 apple cultivars that light up the landscape with clouds of pink and white blossom later this month. In the South West and Devon Orchards, discover apple trees that perform well in the southwest climate, as well as heritage cultivars local to Devon. Nearby, in the Fruit and Vegetable Garden, see spectacular trained fruit trees clothed in blossom – the garden offers a wealth of ideas for growing fruit trees in limited space and beautiful ways.

Now is the best time to see the spring bedding displays located near the garden’s entrance, as all the plants are reaching their prime. Planted en masse in beautiful patterns and pleasing combinations, primulas, wallflowers, hyacinths and forget-me-nots form fabulous rivers of colour, and flamboyant tulip cultivars add elegance and height.

April is a time of abundant growth in the Stream Garden, encouraged by ample water and high light levels before the canopy fills out. After a glorious display of daffodils, blue drifts of Camassia bridge the gap between early spring bulbs and the intensity of summer. The lush, young fronds of the shuttlecock fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, flank the stream, as the bronze foliage of Rodgersia unfurls, making a beautiful colour combination. Further down stream, the other-worldly enormous leaves and flower spikes of Gunnera manicata emerge at the water’s edge.

The Mediterranean Garden comes to life this month with a dazzling display of blooms. Cercis chinensis ‘Avondale’ and C. chingii are smothered in bright purple-pink flowers that pop next to the sunshine-yellow blooms of Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca. The abundant flowers of Cytisus (brooms) bring more colour, including Cytisus × praecox ‘Albus’, forming a cloud of white flowers in mid to late spring. Sunny days bring out the aromatic oils from rosemary, lavender and Santolina foliage, transporting you to warmer climes.