Marlborough Magazine Marlborough September 2016 Issue | Page 10

y o J The ring p S A f O n e d r Ga September is officially the beginning of spring and is one of the loveliest times to be out and about in the garden. All around us the cherry blossom trees are starting to bloom and the beautiful, velvety-silver buds of the early flowering Magnolias are bursting into flower. BY FIONA ESPLEN FROM ISLINGTON GARDENS SPRING TIME Many of the deciduous plants that have been dormant over winter in our gardens are starting to show signs of new life with swelling buds and vibrant green new leaves starting to unfurl from their winter sleep. And best of all, the scent of the spring flowering shrubs such as Winter Sweet (Chimonanthus praecox), Witch Hazel (Hamamelis), Viburnum and Boronia are starting to fill the air with their sweet and seductive perfumes. EASY CARE BEAUTY Deciduous Viburnum varieties such as Burkwoodii, Ann Russell or Carlcephalum are some of the most beautifully scented and useful shrubs you can have in a garden. Easy to grow, insect and disease resistant and very low maintenance, they can suit pretty much any garden. Just picking a couple of stems with their gorgeous pom-pom like flowers will fill a room with fragrance. Winter Sweet too makes wonderful cut flower stems. Growing as a shrubby bush with small fairly inconspicuous creamy-yellow flowers, their perfume is just divine.