I planted this Prunus subhirtella autumnalis about fifteen years ago and every winter at this time it graces the garden with these flowers on bare twigs. It begins blooming in November and reaches a peak in February, but one of the best things about it is that .....
.... bullfinches find its apparently inexhaustible supply of flower buds irresistible. Yesterday there were three cock birds like this one feeding on it, together with three females.
This flowering cherry also diverts the birds' attention from the pear trees' buds further down the garden, so on the basis of its winter flower display, bird visitors and decoy attributes, planting it was a win-win-win strategy.
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That looks like a choice tree to have in the garden - we don't do to badly for bullfinches, but I'd love to have one of these in our garden.
ReplyDeleteThe bullfinch is a welcome sight unless, as you say, one has an orchard.
ReplyDeleteThat's clever. I was wondering whether you were torn between birds and blossom.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fine tree throughout the year - good autumn foliage too, and it doesn't generate too much shade in our small garden.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite birds Adrian - they always stick together in family parties through the winter, so you rarely see them as single birds - they arrive mob-handed...
ReplyDeleteWish I could have claimed that I planned it Lucy, but it's just a happy set of circumstances. The bullfinches can take a bit of a toll on the buds when the tree's small, but now its a decent size they don't have a major impact...
ReplyDeleteGorgeous!
ReplyDeleteReminds me of a Japanese painting, Blackbird....
DeleteDouble beauty, from the blossom and the lovely birds, what a happy thought.
ReplyDeleteI think bullfinches suit the tree perfectly. Sometimes a portly wood pigeon sits on the slender branches and the ensemble isn't quite so harmonius!
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