Cherries (and other joy)

Today has been cool and breezy, but the heat of the last few days has transformed just about everything in the garden. The most dramatic transformation has happened to the big sweet cherry tree Prunus ‘Bigarreau Napoleon‘ which went from bare branches to clouds of flowers in a single day.

The soft white blossom has a dreamy promise of delicious red cherries in June.

The ornamental cherry Prunus ‘Amanogawa’ is starting to hold its own against its massive cousin – its columnar habit forming a pleasing pillar of colour.

The sour cherries Prunus cerasus ‘Morello’ are showing positive signs of fruit-bearing this year too.We have 4 of these Morellos and I’m hoping for cherry pie, jam, brandy and vodka. Lets hope there’s no sudden frosts like last year..

In other news, the red horse chestnut Aesculus x carnea ‘Briotii’ is flowering for the first time. This tree grew from seed collected at RHS Wisley in 2009. I think it is happy here.

The sun is rising earlier every day; sunrise will soon be completely obscured by the old sycamore as it comes into full leaf. Spring is happening very fast this year.