Blossom will last longer this year despite cold snap

BLOSSOM will last longer this year despite recent cold snaps, thanks to a warm start to spring, the National Trust has said.

Trees have largely avoided the kind of frosts that cause petal damage even as temperatures dropped in recent weeks, the charity said. Earlier this month, the trust had warned that trees were blooming four weeks earlier than normal in some parts of the country, after the warmest February on record.

But after a drop in temperatures and significant rainfall, they said nature had managed to “slow down and catch up with itself”, meaning blossom would arrive on time and could last longer than usual.

Andy Jasper, head of gardens and parklands at the trust, said: “Thankfully, though the weather turned colder after we saw those early blooms, we have not experienced the kind of frosts that could have wrought havoc, causing petals to be damaged and to drop early, which means that if you are lucky enough to live in one of these pockets of early spring, you’ll have even longer to enjoy this year’s spectacle.”

The charity launches its annual blossom campaign today, following the first day of spring. It has also released a book of blossom-inspired poetry by Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate.

The collection of poems, haikus and song lyrics, illustrated by printmaker Angela Harding, is intended to express “the fleeting joy of blossom as a key moment within nature’s calendar”.

Armitage said: “Nature writing goes right back to the very origins of poetry. I wanted the poems to key in to that tradition, and to make themselves available as memorable verse and song lyrics.

“At the same time, I wanted them to exist in the here and now, using everyday language and dealing with contemporary issues, not least climate change.”

The trust said the arrival of blossom as much as four weeks early was a clear sign of the impact of climate change.

Pamela Smith, national gardens consultant for the trust, said: “This winter, we encountered unseasonably warm temperatures, and there is no denying that effects of climate change are getting more noticeable year on year. However, thanks to the more recent cold snaps, this rapid progress has slowed down somewhat, and in some places the blooming of blossom has almost fallen back into a familiar rhythm.”