This spring, plan your visit to explore some of the best places to spot blossom, you may even see some blossom trees at Chineham Park.
According to new research from the National Trust the area of orchards in England and Wales has halved since the early 1900s. This is resulting in huge losses in habitats for nature and meaning far fewer people can enjoy one of nature’s spectacular, yet fleeting, moments – spring blossom.
Why not join in with National Trust’s celebration of blossom in the run up to Blossom watch day on 23 April 2022? All you need to do is share your pictures of colourful blossom on social media using the hashtag #Blossomwatch and tag Chineham Park too.
With results published as the conservation charity kicks off this year’s #BlossomWatch campaign, the results reveal an overall loss in orchards of 56 per cent, with just 43,017Ha left growing today – an area about the size of the Isle of Wight.
As part of National Trust’s commitment to plant and establish 20 million trees across England, Wales and Northern Ireland by 2030, they want to plant four million blossoming trees. Planting native and historic varieties, and other trees such as blackthorn and hawthorn, are vital to supporting nature.
Where to see some blossom trees
The Vyne near Basingstoke is a lovely place to wander at this time of year – plum, pear and apple trees start to reveal tiny cream and candy-pink flowers – a picture-postcard scene. If you visit in late spring, make sure you stroll through the Wild Garden. Its little cherry trees produce large displays of pale pink flowers on either side of the track.
At Stockbridge Down, on this beautiful oasis of chalk downland you’ll find plenty of spring blossom, which makes walking a delight for the senses. Blackthorn is one of the first wild blossoms to appear – look for small white flowers with pink anthers set in thorny scrub. A little later comes hawthorn, or ‘May’ – a rich food source for birds, insects and…dormice. They love munching on the flowers.
In spring, the National Trust’s Hinton Ampner’s orchard is full of frothy creamy-white and soft pink Japanese cherry blossom. First to appear are the soft pink double flowers of variety ‘Kanzan’. Tiny white star-shaped wood anemone litter the long grass. In April, the blowsy cream blooms of Mount Fuji appear, weighing branches down towards the ground. In the walled kitchen garden espaliered fruit trees bear tight clusters of pink and white flowers.
How to take part
To join in Blossom Watch simply take a photo of a blossom tree and upload it to social media using the hashtag #blossomwatch. It doesn’t matter whether the tree is in your garden, a park, at a National Trust property or at Chineham Park.
Get tagging and we can’t wait to see your photos. For more information head to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/blossom-watch
