In full flower, this  iconic Chinese tree is a stunning spectacle.  Along every limb hang the large white bracts, in pairs of unequal length, sheltering the pretty inflorescences within and contrasting beautifully with the vibrant green leaves.  These have a heart-shaped base and serrated edges, not unlike mulberry or lime.  The bracts, reminiscent of doves or handkerchiefs (hence the common names) are green at first, but only after they turn white do various species of bees visit.

As you walk up to the Bear Pit you cannot fail to notice on your left-hand side, slightly set up on the slope, this magnificent evergreen Rhododendron with its pink flower buds that open to loose trusses of about 10-12 almost pure white flowers, they are sweetly scented lily-like and around 7cms to 9cms across.

Walk in the woodland garden through the Hamamelis or in the Mediterranean garden and you will see the beautiful intense scarlet flowers of Tulipa sprengeri.

For many years the seed of this unusual annual, which can grow as a short- lived perennial, has lain dormant at the top of the Mixed Borders. Suddenly a large clump of the blue-grey fleshy foliage and drooping blue-green bracts around tubular purple flowers has reappeared.

In the Rock and Water Garden a unique sight is the little multi-stemmed tree, Cercis siliquastrum, every young twig smothered in rosy-pink flowers with some on the old stems too, before the pretty heart shaped leaves appear.

Lonicera syringantha (the lilac-flowered honeysuckle), in the family Caprifoliaceae, is a deciduous, rounded shrub with small, sea-green leaves borne in threes along the slender branches. From April it blooms prolifically for many weeks. The tubular rose-lilac flowers are very sweetly scented.

Even before the (Covid-19) closure of the Pavilions, few visitors to the Australian section would have noticed the extraordinary sight of the gymea lily in bloom - because the large cluster of bright red tubular flowers grows atop a 20 ft stem!

This beautiful shrub, a bramble relative, has long arching canes carrying 2-inch pure white flowers with golden stamens, along the entire length.

This upright, mostly evergreen shrub is one of two species in the pea (Leguminosae) family, subfamily Papilionoideae.