March is all about anticipation: admittedly, whitethorn and Prunus cerasifera are doing their thing, and Mahonia is almost over, but, in the Botanic Garden, I don’t imagine I am the only person checking up on the great Prunus x yedoensis (the Yoshino cherry) on the Main Lawn, of which the flower buds are swelling in a manner which is both gratifying and hugely exciting. If nothing goes wrong in the way of storms or severe frosts, this will be a vintage year for the Garden’s greatest poster child.
The Yoshino cherry in its glory a couple of years ago (Credit: Cambridge University Botanic Garden)
I went round yesterday photographing (mostly) tree buds: the photos aren’t very brilliant (getting a real camera might improve the situation), but I hope they give some ideas …
The Yoshino cherry in bud yesterdayNearby, the Malus trilobata (the Lebanese wild apple)By the glasshouses, Tetrapanax papyrifera, the rice paper plantNear the stream, Cerdiciphyllum japonicum ‘Pendula‘, the katsura treeMagnolia denudata, the lily treePaeonia lutea var. ludlowiiQuercus libani, the Lebanon oakParrotia persica, the Persian ironwoodEucommia ulmoides, the gutta-percha, formerly a source of golf ballsTilia mongolica, the Mongolian lime or lindenFagus sylvatica f. purpurea, the purple beechFraxinus ornus, the manna ashAmelanchier lamarckii, the snowy mespilus or JuneberryAnother Prunus x yedoensis, near the Hills Road gateAesculus flava, the yellow buckeye
And finally, my favourite:
Acer caudatifolium, a maple from Taiwan, growing up with muntjac protection. A wonderful combination of striped bark and buds in shades of red and pink, clothed in delicate white down.
Professor Hedgehog's Journal 