IN THE GARDEN
The production of spring blossom isn’t just for our benefit, but serves to attract pollinators
time, starting in Okinawa in January and finishing in Hokkaido in April with late- season blooms. Such is the fervour for cherry blossom in Japan that generations of people adopt the centuries-old tradition of hanami, in which families celebrate the arrival of spring by viewing blossom while indulging in family picnics and parties. While here in the UK we may not go to such lengths to celebrate this spectacle, a You Gov survey conducted for the National Trust found that 94% of people reported feeling happy at the sight of spring blossom – such is the power of plants. Blossom for pollinators It’s also easy for human admirers to forget that the production of spring blossom isn’t simply for our benefit, but serves to attract pollinators who visit the flowers in exchange for nectar. Once pollination has occurred, blossom trees – whether cherry, hawthorn, sloe, apple or crab apple – continue to support the wider ecosystem in providing food and shelter for a range of mammals, birds and insects. The native sloe, or blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa ), for example, not only puts on a show of white flowers in spring but also
provides a source of food for birds (as well as a gin flavouring for humans). It is estimated to support more than 100 insect species, the majority of which are butterflies and moths. Blossom in abundance Here in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, blossom season for me starts with the magnolias, whose waxy, goblet-shaped flowers emerge before the leaves, and whose generous blooms brighten the darkest of early spring days. Perhaps the most widely admired of these is the Magnolia x soulangeana , whose pink-tinged blooms adorn many domestic gardens. Meanwhile the Magnolia stellata , with its delicate star-shaped flowers, and the large, deep-pink Magnolia sprengeri (‘Diva’) are less widely grown but equally rewarding in their flowering. There then comes a flurry of flamboyant flowering, starting with the familiar lilacs ( Syringa species) whose panicles bear many scented, tubular flowers.
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK MARCH 2026 79 MAGNOLIA MADNESS Magnolia species such as ‘Serene’ (top) and soulangeana (above) are a joy to behold at the Botanic Garden in early spring
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