One of the best things about this time of year is the blossom!
Blossom is the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus Prunus), and similar; such as the Apple (Malus). At this time of year they are bursting with flowers, and the loud hum of busy bees collecting pollen.
Apple trees have been grown in U.K. for over a thousand years, and they tend to flower later in the Spring; the last week of April through to May. This blossom is from a cherry, and it has been in flower for a week or so now. Cherries can bloom as early as March if it has been warm - which it hasn’t! There are two native species of cherry in the British Isles; bird cherry and wild cherry. I don’t know enough about cherries to know which type this is, but it is from one of my favourite trees on the cemetery, and I look forward to seeing it every Spring.
I found out yesterday that there are loads of cherries in London! April is Sakura (cherry blossom) Month, and you can see them at Kew Gardens, Kyoto Garden, Greenwich Park, St Paul’s Cathedral and Regent’s Park.
In Japan, cherry blossoms symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse. Their delicate beauty and grace, and their short lived existence - they last about two weeks - are a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, and to many they represent destiny and karma. They represent Spring, and the cycle of life, death and renewal/rebirth. They tie closely into Buddhist themes of mindfulness, mortality, and living in the present.
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