Blossom Time

It's Spring Blossom Time again. My runny nose and itchy eyes were an early clue, but the village pear tree is the real giveaway.

Cherry blossom has been out in the village for a few weeks now, and the recent warm weather has somewhat predictably triggered off my annual Spring bout of Hay fever. The assorted apple trees dotted throughout the village are still to unfurl their delicate pink petals, but the huge old pear tree is now in full blossom and quite a wonderful sight.

The quantity of blossom would tend to suggest a bumper harvest of fruit this year, particularly as the crop was so sparse last season, but there's still time for poor weather or a late frost to scupper the pollination. One other possible problem is that the only other pear tree of any size in the village that I know of, was chopped down last year! I just hope there are sufficient alternatives tucked away in peoples gardens to provide the bees and other pollinators with a ready supply of pear tree pollen.

An interesting development for this year's Spring blossom time is on Joan Morgan's excellent Fruit Forum. With the aid of subscribers to this useful forum, Joan is hoping to track the emergence of fruit tree blossom across the country. Do have a look on the website to see how progress is being charted, from the earliest southern blooms, to later fruity flowerings as Spring heads ever northwards.