Spring is a time of fresh foliage and flowers signalling the start of longer days and it even has a characteristic fresh invigorating smell.
Daffodils are an iconic spring flower, but trees and shrubs also burst into bloom, adding to the heavy scent in the air. Dunedin Botanic Garden is a great place to explore for spring flowers and venturing up the hill to the geographic plant collection can fill those olfactory desires.
On the way, you will pass the arboretum with its mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees. Standing out in the middle is a group of Amelanchier canadensis, with white flowers opening before the leaves, being as good as any flowering cherry.
In the Southern African garden, Podalyria calyptrata or as it is commonly known, the sweetpea bush, fills the air on calm days with sweetly scented perfume from the mauve/pink flowers.
Then north in the Asian border viburnums abound, with Viburnum bitchiuense a sure winner with its rose/pink clusters of flowers steeped in strong perfume.
The list could go on. The only way to find your spring delight is to get out into the garden with nose held high and eyes peeled, looking for those gems that enlighten our souls.
- Garden Life is produced by Dunedin Botanic Garden. For further information contact Dylan Norfield.
