Blossom watch

Apple blossom appears from March-April and is white with a hint of pink. It grows in hedgerows and scrubland in moist, heavy soil. It's a short tree with greyish-brown flecked bark and a gnarled ('crabbed') shape. Crab apple trees often indicate past human habitation – the apples can be used in cooking and the wood is good for carving and firewood.

Wild cherry produces small baubles of white flowers covering the tree in April-May with a confident flourish. It loves sunlight and fertile soil, typically growing singly in hedgerows or at woodland edges. The bark is a stunning reddish-brown marked with horizontal 'scars'.

Blackthorn is one of the first shrubs to burst into flower in March. The white blossom appears before the leaves. The tree is short with smooth, dark brown bark and found in hedgerows and scrub in full sun. The tree can often last up to 100 years and traditionally was used for making walking sticks or shillelaghs in Ireland.

There are many types of willow, but it’s the goat or grey willow with the clouds of yellow catkins that stand out in March and April. It's often found near damper areas of woodland, or near streams and ditches. The grey-brown bark becomes marked over time by diamond-shaped fissures and the twigs glow red-yellow in winter sunlight.

The fragrant pinkish-white flowers appear after April, and so it is also known as May-flower. It is often found in hedgerows, woodland edges and scrubland. Hawthorn wood is hard and very finely grained and in the past was used for making cabinets, boxes and tool handles. It also makes good firewood and charcoal.

The clusters of cream flowers appear in late May, and the trees they bloom on can be found in woodland, scrub and hedgerows. The bark is grey-brown with a corky furrowed texture. It is thought that the name 'elderflower' comes from the Anglo-Saxon 'aeld', meaning fire. The hollow stems were used to blow air into the centre of a fire.

As part of our work to encourage wildlife, we’re planting 68 new orchards on sites in England and Wales by 2025. Traditional orchards are great for wildlife — the trees are planted further apart and wildflowers are often grown underneath them to encourage pollinators to pollinate blossom when the trees flower in spring.

An abundance of wildlife thrives on blossom. Bees seek pollen from wild cherry and apple blossoms. Caterpillars and butterflies love the leaves of goat willow and elderflower blossoms. Song thrushes and blackbirds eat the fruit produced by the trees and hunt for insects among the blossom. Badgers, mice, voles and foxes eat the fruit that falls to the ground.