Emmetts Garden in blossom

Spring blossom

The majority of cherry trees at Emmetts Garden, found out in the tulip meadow are Prunus fugenzo, which are originally native to Japan.

We have approximately 48 of these cherry trees sitting nestled in between the Rock Garden and Wildflower Meadow, providing sweeping views out over the surrounding Kent countryside from amongst the artfully arranged trees.

Whilst the Prunus fugenzo variety of cherry tree are not a particularly rare specimen individually, we’re very proud of the large collection we maintain here at Emmetts Garden to form a spectacle you’ll find hard to beat elsewhere!

Spring flowers are notoriously hard to predict, but depending on the weather, we may start to see the blossom from early April onwards. The end of April and into May is when we expect them to be looking their best, but keep an eye on our social media channels for all the updates as they come.

Caring for the cherry trees

Each of the blossoming cherry trees in the tulip meadow have all been ‘top worked’, which in this case means the garden team have carefully formed them into growing into the shape of a lollipop.

Shaping trees into different architectural shapes is a gardening technique used for centuries and thanks to a discovery of stereoscopic glass slides dating to around 1910, we know this is how they were originally grown by the Lubbocks.

The trees are regularly pruned each year to keep the lollipop shape and growing strong. Suckers are removed from the base and the stem which helps to keep the trees clean. The top foliage is then taken back in by around a half to three quarters, dependent on how much each managed to grow over the prior months.

All of this takes place every year at the end of the flowering season, usually over two days at the end of May or start of June.

Wild cherries

As well as the Prunus fugenzo, Emmetts also has several Prunsus avium or wild cherry trees out on the edge of the woodland at the bottom of the South Garden, often known as ‘Sweet Cherry’. 

More recent additions to Emmetts Garden after land that had previously been sold off was able to be bought back by the National Trust in the 1970s, these new cherry trees were some of the specimens planted in.

These trees blossom at a similar time to the Prunus fugenzo, extending into June – although this is also seasonally dependent. In the summertime, they’ll grow fruit, with green cherries slowly maturing into the red fruits, providing a fantastic source of food for the local wildlife.