What a brief, glorious flourish! Surbiton’s magnolia trees bloomed in the last days of March, hit their peak on March 30… yet within days prompted shouts of: ‘Mind where you put your feet, Tarquin, those slimy petals make the pavements slippery.’

This stunning specimen is on the Long Ditton/Surbiton boundary, where Balaclava Road, St Mary’s Road and Effingham Road meet. The blend of pink and white, lit by the sunlight in the cool spring air, has few equals.