Prunus spinosa in bloom
27th March 2024
“The gnarled blackthorn bushes are covered in thousands upon thousands of white stars, their firework middles exploding in all directions. They won’t think of leafing for a while yet, and so there is only this dark and light, each flower the colour of freshly washed linen. It is said that winter begins when the Cailleach, the Crone of Death, strikes the ground with her blackthorn staff, ushering in a season of loss and misfortune – but if blackthorn begins the winter, perhaps it can also be seen to mark the end of it. If you half close your eyes, can’t you imagine the Cailleach now, her sleeves rolled up, ushering in new warmth as she washes and pegs each bright rosette to those wicked black spikes? To look at a blackthorn in bloom is to see death and new life, beauty and defiance, joined in perfect balance, just as night and day meet neatly at the equinox.”
For the full tribute to this wayside shrub by Josie George go to https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/27/country-diary-the-flowering-blackthorn-is-a-plant-of-glorious-contrasts