Spring at Wakehurst

We visited Wakehurst Place last weekend, a lovely National Trust property with links to Kew Gardens and the site of the National seed bank. I managed to (eventually) persuade The Parents to take us there for an outing- they have previously refused since the property starting charging parking fees to all National Trust members. In my consideration, the fee was well worth it as the gardens were beautiful. They were in a 'just starting to get going' sort of a phase, with the Rhododendrons in full bloom and the Daffodils shining. The posh flower beds are still dormant, but the woodland walk is well worth it to see the trees starting to bud, and we made some new feathered friends along the way.
The Brother has a thing against Rhododendron trees, ever since he was a Scout and went on a forestry course that bemoaned the voracious nature of these plants that spread and are difficult to get rid of. Personally I like them. I like their flowers and the way the flowers fall and carpet the ground underneath. I like the different variations in colour too, some are light pink, some dark pink, some bright pink, some purple, some yellow, some white, some combinations of different colours.
I had originally wanted to see the big Magnolia trees that line a stream and series of waterfalls, but we were too early for the big showy blooms to be out; only the smaller flowered Magnolias seemed to have flowered, although they were also very pretty. This just means that we will have to return in a couple of weeks time when the trees have flowered! No hardship there- other than the £5 parking fee for 2.5 hours.