BEST PLACES TO SEE CHERRY BLOSSOM IN THE UK
Cherry blossoms are more than just the first sign of spring in Japan. It's a sign of rebirth and revival, as well as a lesson in life, like flowers, which is both transitory and delicate. Japanese people meet for lunches and celebrations underneath the pink boughs of sakura, not only to celebrate the end of wintertime, but to renew old friendships, forge new ones, and prepare for the future years.
RHS Garden Rosemoor (North Devon)
Photo by RHS Garden Rosemoor
Cast your eyes to the cherry treetops at RHS Rosemoor: you’ll spot pretty pastel Beni Yutaka blooms, the cream-coloured Somei Yoshino, and the dazzling white Tai Haku – all planted during last year’s nationwide Sakura Cherry Tree Project. The trees were donated by Japanese businesses, as a symbol of friendship and respect between the UK and Japan.
In the spring, the RHS Garden Rosemoor in North Devon is illuminated by clouds of lovely cherry blossom. While the first flower bloomed in February, a slew of others are in full bloom right now, so take advantage of this springtime show while you can.
They have some of their oldest specimens in Lady Anne's Garden, including another favourite, Prunus 'Tai-haku,' a beautiful white cherry. It's a lovely tree with a vast canopy and stunning pure white individual blossoms.
Batsford Arboretum (Gloucestershire)
Photo by Batsford Arboretum
Batsford is residence to the National Collection of Japanese Flowering Cherries in the United Kingdom, which contains over 70% of all recorded cultivars. The Yoshino, with its pillowy pink boughs exported directly from Japan, and the Umineko, with its beautiful snow-white blossoms, are two standouts. Throughout April, the blossoms will be in full bloom.
Batsford's blossom display will reach its pinnacle in mid-April, when the show's headliner, the Japanese flowering cherry collection, blooms fully. The collection was started in the 1950s at Batsford by the then-owner, the 2nd Lord Dulverton, and expanded over time. The Plant Centre at Batsford sells both Japanese village and incisa cherry, allowing visitors to take a piece of the arboretum back home with them.
Blossom Trail, Worcestershire
Vale Blossom Trail
The blossoms displayed in the Vale of Evesham range in colour from the delicate whites of pear and plum to the varied shades of pink of cherry and apple.
Plum and apple blossoms are the most common sights along the Blossom Trail, and they bloom between mid-March and mid-May. In this natural piece of art, the white plum and damson blossoms bloom first, with the white pear and pink apple blossoms following later, depending on the weather.
The Vale of Evesham and its surrounding area are known for their apples, pears, and plums, and they contain some of the most fruitful horticultural acreage in the country. The gentle pink tones of cherry and apple blossom contrast nicely with the white blossom of the pear and plum as it explodes along the road sides of the Vale of Evesham and adjacent areas between mid-March and mid-May.
RHS Garden Wisley (Surrey)
Photo by RHS Garden Wisley
Prepare for the lovely flower season! At RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey, it's that glorious time of year when hundreds of flowering cherry fill the garden with clouds of blossom. The Welcoming Garden is filled with white to pale-pink blooms from the minute you enter, as their avenue of more than 140 Yoshino cherry trees is smothered with white to pale-pink blooms.
The lovely Yoshino cherry is famous for being widely planted in Japan. It has a wonderful horizontal habit and produces an eruption of individual, pink-flushed white blooms that fully cover the tree's limbs. This cherry puts in a lot of effort in the fall, with its magnificent orange-red foliage. You don't have to go to Japan to see this show.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (London)
Photo by Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
This spring, take a stroll through the Japanese cherry blossoms at their Gardens. Start at the Palm House's Cherry Walk and walk all the way to Asano Avenue (near the Temperate House) to witness a wide variety of cherry trees, including the exquisite pink blossoms of Prunus 'Hokusai.'
Hinton Ampner (Hampshire)
Photo by Jongjit Pramcho
From March to May, Hinton Ampner is flooded in cherry blossoms thanks to its many cherry blossom species. The Kanzan trees' lacy fuschia blossoms are the first to burst, turning the orchard into a riot of pink, followed by the Shirotae trees' (also known as 'Mount Fuji') more delicate, whiter petals. Sakura blooms till late spring at the Vyne walled garden.