Spring's best BLOSSOMS

For branches laden with flowers and buzzing with bees, now’s the perfect time to plant a flowering tree

- CHRIS MORLEY

Nature’s confetti

White, pink and rose-red flowers burst into bloom on trees from March through to June, smelling divine and attracting bees and other pollinators emerging from winter slumber. When the petals fall, they form a beautiful wedding-confetti carpet on the ground. Good value bare-root trees can be planted until March or April (providing the soil is not waterlogged or frozen), allowing time for the roots to settle before the growing season.

The May tree

Tough and beautiful, the hawthorn or May tree (Crataegus) flowers from May through to June. Popular as a hedging plant (its thorny stems form a secure barrier), it’s also a fine garden tree and is especially valuable for wildlife, providing food for 150 different types of insect, plus winter food for birds.