How to join in with #BlossomWatch 2023

It's springtime! As trees around the UK burst into flower, the National Trust's #BlossomWatch campaign is about to begin again.

What is #BlossomWatch?

The National Trust launched #BlossomWatch in 2020 during the pandemic in a bid to recreate Japan's Hanami tradition, where thousands flock to see its cherry trees (Sakura) bloom and welcome in the spring. The conservation charity is aiming to build #BlossomWatch each year for it to become a new British tradition. Three years later, it looks as though it was successful.

Spring blossom can be found in hedgerows, orchards, parks and fields across the UK during March and April. Fruit trees such as apples, plums, pears, sloes and damsons will bear dainty white flowers tinged with pink, followed by the famous rosé pink petals of the cherry tree. Closing the season with its creamy white flower is hawthorn, or May-Tree.

The initiative is part of the charity’s Everyone Needs Nature campaign, encouraging people to become more connected with nature. This follows the charity’s Noticing Nature report, which revealed that those who engage with nature are more likely to try to protect it.

According to the report, just 6% of adults, and 7% of children, celebrate natural events such as the first day of spring, solstice or harvest.

To remedy this, the charity wants institutions and schools to encourage people to engage with annual moments in nature. #BlossomWatch is one way to do this, celebrating this underrated but breathtaking time of year, which is set to last for around 3 months across the country.

It doesn’t take much to participate — simply taking a moment to pause and actively notice and enjoy the blossom’s fleeting beauty is enough. If you want to join the campaign, simply take a snap on your phone and post it to social media with the hashtag #BlossomWatch, tagging your location.

Have you seen?

• How to identify spring blossom
• Blackthorn guide: how to identify, folklore and uses
• When is May Day in 2023 and what festivals can I attend?

Crab apple tree in blossom/Credit: Getty