The blossom this spring is truly breathtaking. Heaps of dazzling white blackthorn flowers look like piles of snow dropped on to hedgerows, and stunning white or pink cherry blossoms have turned parks and gardens into a magical wonderland. Conditions for the blossom have been near perfect, with plenty of warm sunshine and hardly a wisp of wind, drop of rain or touch of frost to ruin the blooms. And even the winter weather played a part, with the bitter cold in late January and early February boosting the growth of many trees and shrubs, and which will help the crops of fruits and berries later in the year.
The magnificent symphony of spring is well under way, each plant opening its leaves and flowers in a remarkable choreography. A green mist is now enveloping hedges and woods as the early tree and shrub leaves – such as hawthorns, elders, hornbeams and weeping willows – burst open. Woodland floors are also turning green as carpets of plant leaves pop up, decorated with splashes of bright woodland flowers glistening in the spring sunshine, such as wood anemone, lesser celandine and dog violets. Even the first bluebells are peeking through in some southern parts of England.
But the chronic lack of rain in southern Britain is a big worry later in spring and summer, when the ground will become even drier and put the trees under enormous stress. It will need downpours of biblical proportions to get any water deep underground to the roots.
