Magnolias in Fort Royal Gardens Bristol

Last week I decided that since I was going to be in the area that I would make a quick visit to the Fort Royal Gardens. I knew that I would have missed the fine display of crocuses and some of the earlier Spring flowers but hope that the Magnolias at least would still be in bloom.

Magnolia cylindrica in Fort Royal Gardens, Bristol, England

As you can see, I was not disappointed. As I came down the footpath from Fort Royal House I spied the blooms of one of the two Magnolias through a window of vegetation. Then, instead of continuing down the path I went left up a path that had previously been cordoned off, which led to an overlook of the small enclosure below the curtain wall that runs along one length of the enclosure that the two Magnolias are found. There I had a great view of the smaller Magnolia and a Cherry tree with white blooms which was on the street outside of the Gardens themselves. I'd never seen the Cherry tree because when you are inside the Gardens the boundary walls are too high and you have to walk through the small rear door / gate to see it.

Magnolia stellata in Fort Royal Gardens, Bristol, England

Last year in March I saw two Baba Mama Martenitsa Dolls hanging from its branches. I did not see any this time. Either the person or people who hung them up there last time were no longer in Bristol or the dolls had been taken down already. If you want to know more about them click on the link to my previous post on them.

Magnolia stellata in Fort Royal Gardens, Bristol, England

Here (below) is the bigger tree although in truth it is not that much bigger although its flowers certainly are much bigger.

Magnolia cylindrica in Fort Royal Gardens, Bristol, England

The ground below the bigger Magnolia was already strewn with fallen petals so I am glad I did not leave it too late to visit the gardens because I might have missed them altogether. I think that they will still be in bloom for another few weeks given that there were still a lot of flower buds developing. But, the thing about Magnolias is that when they are in bloom, they are worth visiting over and over again. That is unless you are lucky and have one in your garden or in a neighbors garden, which you can admire.
In Brussels there is one right across the street. There is also another one which is in a garden adjacent to Tillens Block. I have seen several other Magnolias throughout Bristol and hope that I will be able to take photos of the to show you the different colours and shapes.

Flowers of Magnolia cylindrica in Fort Royal Gardens, Bristol, England

The thing with some flowers is that sometimes even after their petals fall off or they dry up, they still somehow manage to look beautiful and or intriguing. If you want to see more Magnolias, scroll down to the Labels (on the right hand side) and look for Magnolia. That should take you to all the current posts that have Magnolias in them.

Close up of flower that has lost all its petals. Magnolia cylindrica in Fort Royal Gardens, Bristol, England

From what I have been able to find on line it appears that the smaller tree is a Magnolia stellata (although it might be a Magnolia x loebneri "Leonard Messel" AGM, which is a hybrid of Magnolia stellata and Magnolia Kobus which was created by Max Löbner.
The other one looks like Magnolia cylindrica although I'm not sure anymore after seeing other photos that show different looking flowers and fruit (which I never saw on this tree). However, it the flowers look a lot like the ones on the Missouri Botanical gardens website so i am going to assume that this is correct and that I just have never seen the fruit. Also it is a species in threat of extinction and listed on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. this is due to habitat loss in the Huang-Shan mountain range in Anhui Province, China.

Binomial Name: Magnolia cylindrica

Common names: Huang-Shan Magnolia (English);


Binomial Name: Magnolia stellata
Common names: Star Magnolia (English); Magnolia étoilé (French); Magnolia estrellada (Spanish); Stern-Magnolie (German); Magnolia stellata (Italian)

 

 Binomial Name: Magnolia kobus
Common names: Kobushi Magnolia (English); Magnolia de Kobé (French); Magnolia kobus, Magnolia del Norte del Japón (Spanish); Kobushi-Magnolien (German); Magnolia stellata (Italian)

Taxonomic hierarchy: 

Kingdom: Plantae - Plants

Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae – Green plants

Infrakingdom: Streptophyta – Land plants

Superdivision: Embryophytea – 
Division: Tracheophyta – Vascular plants, tracheophytes

Subdivision: Spermatophytina – Spermatophytes (seed plants)

Infradivision: Angiospermae – Angiosperms (flowering plants)

Class: Magnoliopsida – Diocotyledons

Superorder: Magnolianae –

Order: Magnoliales –

Family: Magnoliaceae – 

Genus: Magnolia – 

Species: Magnolia 

Notes: 

• I am using the taxonomical classification system used by ITIS (Intergrated Taxonomic Information System). I have decided to use this system in order to avoid confusion as well as because it offers a comprehensive hierarchy from kingdom right through to subspecies whereas other sources only go as far as order or  provide the names of some of the higher taxonomical ranks but only indicate "unclassified" rather than providing the rank.
• When and where possible I will endeavour to include alternatives classifications although  I may limit this to occasions where an opportunity arises to discuss the reason for the different classifications.
• Taxonomical data used in this post was retrieved [April 16 2015], from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database, http://www.itis.gov.

References:

Books:

• 
  

On-line sources:

• Integrated Taxonomic Information System: Entry for Magnolia
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System: Entry for Magnoliaceae
• United States Department of Agriculture: Entry for
• The Plant List: Entry for
• University of Tennessee Herbarium Entry for
  
• Royal Horticultural Society Article: Magnolia
• Royal Horticultural Society Article: Magnolia campbelii Survey 2015
• Royal Horticultural Society Article: Magnolia x leobneri "Leonard Messel"
• Royal Horticultural Society: Entry for Magnolia stellata
• Missouri Botanical Garden: Entry for Magnolia cylindrica
• Floridata Entry for Magnolia stellata
• Dave's Garden Entry for
• Wikipedia: Entry for Magnoliales
• Wikipedia: Entry for Magnoliaceae
• Wikipedia: Entry for Magnolia
• Wikipedia: Entry for Magnolia stellata
• Wikipedia: Entry for Magnolia kobus
• Top Tropicals: Entry for Tropical Magnolias
• Top Tropicals: Entry for Magnolia stellata
• Top Tropicals:Entry for Magnolia cylindrica

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/

· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/

Carnivorous plants: Dionaea muscipula, the Venus flytrap

Among carnivorous plants the Venus Fly Trap, Dionaea muscipula is perhaps one that most people are familiar with, with its hinged leaves and serrated fang-like leaf edges. In a way those tooth-like edges give it a truly carnivorous look although all they do is serve to prevent prey from escaping and thus act more like prison bars than teeth.

 

I had one of these a few years ago and out of concern that it had not caught any flies I occasionally fed it morsels of minced meat and the occasional mealy worm, which did not seem to do any harm although I suspect my axolotl was not too happy with me feeding the Venus Fly Trap its dinner.

Additional Information:

Scientific Name: Dionaea muscipula

Common names: Venus flytrap (English);  (French); S (German); (Spanish);

Taxonomic hierarchy: 

Kingdom: Plantae - Plants

Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae – Green plants

Infrakingdom: Streptophyta – Land plants

Division: Tracheophyta – Vascular plants

Subdivision: Spermatophytina – Spermatophytes (seed plants)

Infradivision: Angiospermae – Angiosperms (flowering plants)

Class: Magnoliopsida –

Superorder: Caryophyllanae –

Order: Caryophyllales –

Family: Droseraceae –

Genus: Dionaea – 

Species: Dionaea muscipula – 

Notes: 

• I am using the taxonomical classification system used by ITIS (Intergrated Taxonomic Information System). I have decided to use this system in order to avoid confusion as well as because it offers a comprehensive hierarchy from kingdom right through to subspecies whereas other sources only go as far as order or  provide the names of some of the higher taxonomical ranks but only indicate "unclassified" rather than providing the rank.
• When and where possible I will endeavour to include alternatives classifications although  I may limit this to occasions where an opportunity arises to discuss the reason for the different classifications.
• Taxonomical data used in this post was retrieved [June 15 2014], from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database, http://www.itis.gov.

References:


On-line sources:

• Royal Horticultural Society: Entry for
• Official Website of the: Bristol University Botanical Gardens
• Missouri Botanical gardens: Entry for 
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database: Entry for 
• Seedaholic: Entry for Dionaea muscipula
• Wikipedia: Entry for Venus Flytrap
• Wikipedia: Entry for  Dionaea
• Wikipedia: Entry for Droseraceae
• Wikipedia: Entry for

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/
· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/

Carnivrous Plants: Pinguicula moranensis

Pinguicula moranensis commonly known as Butterwort is a carnivorous plants which is native to Mexico and Guatemala. It succulent leaves are covered in pednucular (stalked) mucilaginous (sticky) glands which help it to attract and trap arthropods (invertebrate animals with exoskeletons) which it then digests with the sesile (flat) glands. The pednucular glands secrete a sticky substance which appears like droplets of water on the leaf. When an arthropod (mainly insects) touched the pednucular gland it releases more of the sticky substance and when the insect struggles to free itself it triggers other nearby glands to release more until it is encased in it.

Pinguicula moranensis in the Bristol University Botanical Gardens Greenhouses

The leaf can bend itself slightly through thigmotropism to bring more glands into contact with the prey. Once the prey is entrapped the sesile glands release digestive enzymes which to digest the prey breaking down the digestible parts of its body into liquids which are then reabsorbed by the leaf through cuticular holes leaving only the chitin exoskeleton behind.

The etymology of the genus name Pinguicula comes from the Latin pinguis which mean fat because of the buttery texture of the leaves while the specific name moranensis refers to its type location, Mina de Moran in the Sierra de Pachuca. This is where the three botanists Humbolt, Bonpland and Kunth collected specimens of the plant during an expedition in early 1800s. However, in 1999 a Mexican botanist S. Zamudio collected specimens in the same area and noted that the plants he had collected did not share the original description given by Humbolt, Bonpland and Kunt
Further investigation based on the travels of the earlier expedition led Zamudio to conclude that the plants collected by Humbolt, Bonpland and Kunt were most likely from an area called "El Puente de la Madre de Dios" in the Mexican state of Higaldo. He confirmed this by finding matching specimens of the plants in that area.
So it appears that due to some mix up these plants were misnamed. In the end Zamudio published his findings as a variation of  Pinguicula moranensis under the name Pinguicula moranensis var. neovolcanica.


Additional Information:

Scientific Name: Pinguicula moranensis

Common names: Butterwort (English); grassette de Moran (French); fleischfressende Pflanze (German); Violeta de barranca (Spanish);

Taxonomic hierarchy: 

Kingdom: Plantae - Plants

Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae – Green plants

Infrakingdom: Streptophyta – Land plants

Division: Tracheophyta – Vascular plants

Subdivision: Spermatophytina – Spermatophytes (seed plants)

Infradivision: Angiospermae – Angiosperms (flowering plants)

Class: Magnoliopsida –

Superorder: Asteranae –

Order: Lamiales –

Family: Lentibulariaceae – bladderworts

Genus: Pinguicula – 

Species: Pinguicula moranensis –

Notes: 

• I am using the taxonomical classification system used by ITIS (Intergrated Taxonomic Information System). I have decided to use this system in order to avoid confusion as well as because it offers a comprehensive hierarchy from kingdom right through to subspecies whereas other sources only go as far as order or  provide the names of some of the higher taxonomical ranks but only indicate "unclassified" rather than providing the rank.
• When and where possible I will endeavour to include alternatives classifications although  I may limit this to occasions where an opportunity arises to discuss the reason for the different classifications.
• Taxonomical data used in this post was retrieved [June 15 2014], from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database, http://www.itis.gov.

References:


On-line sources:

• Royal Horticultural Society: Entry for Pinguicula moranensis
• Official Website of the: Bristol University Botanical Gardens 
• World of Pinguicula: Entry for Pinguicula moranensis var. neovolcanica
• World of Pingicula: Pinguicula Distribution, Growth Habit by Dr. Laurent Legendre
• Missouri Botanical gardens: Entry for Pinguicula moranensis
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database: Entry for Pinguicula moranensis
• Seedaholic: Entry for Pinguicula moranensis
• Wikipedia: Entry for Pinguicula
• Wikipedia: Entry for Lentibulariaceae
• Wikipedia: Entry for  Lamiales
• Wikipedia: Entry for Anthropod

Additional resources:

•  Galleria Carnivora:
• Barry Rice: Carnivorous Plant Publications

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/
· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/

Senecio elegans

While on a recent visit to the Bristol University Botanical Gardens I came across these in the greenhouse. My closest guess was that they had to be from the family Asteraceae also known as the Aster Family. I'm not sure if I'm getting better at identifying plants or if members of this family are so obvious. Luckily they had a little sign which proved me correct once I'd gotten back and looked Senecio elegans up.

Senecio elegans at the Bristol University Botanical Gardens

Senecio elegans is native to southern Africa. They also exist in purple, red, and pink. Unfortunately the only ones I saw were all yellow. However, I am sure I have probably come across some of the other colours. I will keep my eyes open so I can get some photos and do a post showing them all for comparative purposes.

Senecio elegans at the Bristol University Botanical Gardens

Senecio elegans at the Bristol University Botanical Gardens

Additional Information:

Scientific Name: Senecio elegans

Common names: wild cineraria, (English); name (French); name (German); name (Spanish);

Taxonomic hierarchy: 

Kingdom: Plantae - Plants

Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae – Green plants

Infrakingdom: Streptophyta – Land plants

Division: Tracheophyta – Vascular plants

Subdivision: Spermatophytina – Spermatophytes (seed plants)

Infradivision: Angiospermae – Angiosperms (flowering plants)

Class: Magnoliopsida –

Superorder: Asteranae –

Order: Asterales –

Family: Asteraceae –

Genus: Senecio – 

Species: Senecio elegans –

Notes: 

• I am using the taxonomical classification system used by ITIS (Intergrated Taxonomic Information System). I have decided to use this system in order to avoid confusion as well as because it offers a comprehensive hierarchy from kingdom right through to subspecies whereas other sources only go as far as order or  provide the names of some of the higher taxonomical ranks but only indicate "unclassified" rather than providing the rank.
• When and where possible I will endeavour to include alternatives classifications although  I may limit this to occasions where an opportunity arises to discuss the reason for the different classifications.
• Taxonomical data used in this post was retrieved [June 15 2014], from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database, http://www.itis.gov.

References:


On-line sources:

http://www.herbiguide.com.au/Descriptions/hg_Hollyleaved_Senecio.htm

http://www.exotic-plants.de/seeds/succulents/Senecio-elegans.php

• Royal Horticultural Society: Entry for Sencio elegans L.
• Official Website of the: Bristol University Botanical Gardens
• Missouri Botanical gardens: Entry for Sencio elegans L.
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database: Entry for  Sencio elegans L.
• Flora Database the Western Australian Flora: Entry for Sencio elegans L.
• PlantZAfrica.com: Entry for Sencio elegans L.
• Seedaholic: Entry for Sencio elegans L.
• Wikipedia: Entry for Asterids
• Wikipedia: Entry for Asterales
• Wikipedia: Entry for Asteraceae
• Wikipedia: Entry for Senecioneae
• Wikipedia: Entry for Senecio
• Wikipedia: Entry for Scenecio elegans

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/
· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/

Nymphaea - Water Lilies at the University of Bristol Botanical Gardens

One of the things that I really liked about the University of Bristol Botanical Gardens were the water lilies. There are two water features. The first and biggest it the big pond near the entrance and the second is a raised concrete pond near the Mediterranean plants.

It is not difficult to understand Monet's fascination for water lilies. There is just something about water lilies that just captivates people. Maybe it is the combination of the stunning colours and delicate beauty together with the way most of the time they are out of reach so the only way to appreciate them is to stand as close to the water edge as possible and devour them with your eyes.

Add caption

Genus Name: Nymphaea

Common names: Water lilies (English) ;

Taxonomic hierarchy: 

Kingdom: Plantae - Plants

Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae – Green plants

Infrakingdom: Streptophyta – Land plants

Division: Tracheophyta – Vascular plants

Subdivision: Spermatophytina – Spermatophytes (seed plants)

Infradivision: Angiospermae – Angiosperms (flowering plants)

Class: Magnoliopsida –

Superorder: Nymphaeanae –

Order: Nypmhaeales –

Family: Nymphaceae – Water lilies (English)

Genus: Nymphaea – 

Species: Nymphaea alba – European White Water lily, White Water lily (English)

Species: Nymphaea odorata  – American Water lily, American White Water lily, WhiteWater lily (English)
Species: Nymphaea mexicana – Yellow Water lily, Banana Water lily (English)

Notes: 

• I am using the taxonomical classification system used by ITIS (Intergrated Taxonomic Information System). I have decided to use this system in order to avoid confusion as well as because it offers a comprehensive hierarchy from kingdom right through to subspecies whereas other sources only go as far as order or  provide the names of some of the higher taxonomical ranks but only indicate "unclassified" rather than providing the rank.
• When and where possible I will endeavour to include alternatives classifications although  I may limit this to occasions where an opportunity arises to discuss the reason for the different classifications.
• Taxonomical data used in this post was retrieved [June 15 2014], from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database, http://www.itis.gov.

References:


On-line sources:

• Royal Horticultural Society: Entry for Water lilies
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database: Entry for Nymphaea
• Wikipedia: Entry for Water Lilies
• Wikipedia: Entry for Nymphaeaceae
• Wikipedia: Entry for Water Lilies
•  

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/
· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/

more Magnolias

Sometimes it is fascinating the various shades of blue you can find in the sky. Just by moving a bit and taking a photo from a different angle or location you can get a different blue tone although the angle of the sunlight and where you are can also make a big difference as you can see here.

Magnolias with the University of Bristol Physics Building in the background

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/
· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/

Magnolias and Martenista dolls from Bulgaria

I was waiting for nice blue skies to coincide with when I had a bit of time to quickly go and take some more photos in the Fort Royal Gardens because I wanted to get some photos of the Cherry and Magnolia blossoms as well as the changing flora. The hard thing was finding the time since despite what people may say and think you do get to see a lot of blue skies in England. Maybe I  just notice it more than those who only notice grey skies when they are there.
Anyway here are some photos of the two Magnolia trees located in the little cul-de-sac near the rear exit of the Gardens along with some other flowers.

Magnolia Blossom that has lost all its leaves in foreground

As you can see I probably was lucky as the flowers are beginning to lose their petals which made for some interesting photo opportunities also.

I am still not sure if the smaller tree is indeed a Magnolia or not.

Some one had hung two tiny dolls on this tree. I was not sure of the symbolism but assumed it was some Japanese tradition because I had seen two Japanese girls leaving there as I arrived. In fact I only noticed it because two guys who were already there (also taking pictures along with this other lady) noticed the dolls which were hanging from the lower branches.
I looked it up and it turns out they are most likely Pizho and Penda a pair of Martenitsa dolls, which are from a Bulgarian traditional holiday Baba Marta. I'll write more in another post with a close up of the dolls.
You can go to that post by licking on the link: Baba Marta Martenitsa Dolls appear in Bristol

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

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My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/
· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/

Cherry blossoms?

In the lawn between the two Magnolias was a tall slender tree which had all these pink flowers. I have no idea what it is but think it might be a variety of cherry tree. In any case it has lovely flowers although the height at which the flowers were and their position made it quite a challenge to photograph especially with the wind.

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/
· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/

Cherry Blossoms in the Fort Royal Gardens

There is at least one Cherry tree in the Fort Royal Gardens. Well it is more like a couple of tall trees with masses of small pink flowers not far from the rear exit of the Fort Royal Gardens.

If you are walking along the path heading from the rear exit towards the pond you will see them on the left hand side. they are pretty hard to miss as you can see. Unfortunately, on the day I took these photos although it was a sunny day the blue skies were in the wrong place so all I have is delicate pink with rose hearts on white skies. Hopefully the next time I go through they will still be blooming and I will have clear blue skies to have as a background because that is stunning as I can tell having seen it when I did not have a camera on me.

The other one is a small tree with mid sized size flowers hidden behind some pines that provide a screen between the path that runs behind the pond and the pond itself.

 In the photo above you can see how sunny it was from how bright the walls of Fort Royal House is. Actually, I must admit I am not sure if these trees are Cherry trees or not but the flowers resemble cherry blossoms to me. So if I am wrong please let me know what they are.

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/

· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/

Fort Royal Gardens Magnolias: Part 1

There are three trees in the Fort Royal gardens that I think are Magnolias. Two which I know are Magnolias and one that I am not sure of.

Fort Royal house

Path leading from Fort Royal House down into the Gardens

As you come down the path to the left is a small glade like space with the first two Magnolia Trees

Here you can see the rear exit from the Gardens. If you take the main path going right you will go towards the Pond with the Daffodils on the hill and fields of crocuses. Just to the right of this four corners is the other mass of crocuses that you can see in some of the earlier posts. They are all gone now although some daffodils have come up.

If you turn left and take the small gravel path you will find your self in a small enclosure with a grass area, sculptures and a bench as well as two magnificent trees.

The first tree you come to was the first one to start blooming.

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.


Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/

· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/