The magnolias deliver up goblet- and star-shaped blooms in spring. Finally released from their suede winter casings, the flowers dab the bare branches with vivid splashes of pale pink, deep crimson pink and white.
The purple-pink, large flowers of Magnolia sprengeri 'Diva' have a rich vanilla scent, while those of Magnolia kobus are much smaller, six-petalled stars, lime-flushed white. Towards the Stream Garden, the deep burgundy pink, many-petalled huge flowers of the brazen cultivar ‘Vulcan’ are very showy, emerging from large brown, very furry felted sheaths.
