BLOSSOMING BEAUTY
In 2021, the National Trust launched a digital campaign, #Blossomwatch, to encourage people to connect with nature after the national lockdowns.
It is now an annual event, known as the Festival of Blossom, which celebrates the joy and beauty of blossom each year, highlighting its important role in the environment and wellbeing of people.
This spring, at a range of places from orchards to city centres, the National Trust is supporting blossom-themed events to encourage people to enjoy this annual spectacle with activities, artworks, picnics, games, walks, performances and more.
At Peckover House and Garden in Cambridgeshire, visitors are invited to celebrate blossom with craft activities, including blossom
Brockhampton
origami, blossom spotter sheets, and blossom themed poems.
On Tuesday, 30 April, the Peckover team are working with Octavia Hill Birthplace Museum, Wisbech Community Hub and Cambian Specialist Education School in Wisbech to provide blossom-related art activities.
At Brockhampton in Herefordshire, the team are continuing their collaboration with artist-led production partnership Salt Road, delivering workshops, activities and artworks within the orchards. Brockhampton is home to over 145 acres of orchards, the largest in the Trust’s care. In 2022, Brockhampton installed 5 interlocking orchard ‘rooms’, which mimic the 5 seed chambers visible when an apple is cut open. The circular rooms have been planted to tell the story of how apple trees arrived in the UK and includes a natural play trail for families. With 3km of accessible paths, natural play in the orchard rooms, and hammocks that swing beneath the branches, there is a way for everyone to enjoy the beauty of blossom at Brockhampton.
To find out more about these and other blossom events taking place, visit nationaltrust.org.uk