Blossom and Bees

A mild weekend and a bit of sunshine is all it takes to bring out the blossom around the garden.   Magnolia stellata is opening its first furry buds and the bonus is the blooms have a delicate scent.   Bright pink camellias are in full flower and it is a treat to find a white camellia flowering,  tucked away and almost forgotten in the Spring area.     Forsythia by contrast is covered in bright yellow blooms as is Cornus mas.   Prunus cerasifera Nigra is covered in dainty pink flowers and still looks good even though it had a large branch blown out during the recent storms.     Best of all though is Prunus incisa Kojo-no-mai,  in two days it has come into full bloom, and looks an absolute picture.   Stand still for a minute nearby and a loud buzzing can be heard,   stand a little longer and look carefully and tens of our honey bees can be seen visiting each flower in turn.    This prunus has been covered in bees all day,   it’s good to see so many have survived the winter.