Spring Colour Watch Blog: signs of spring in Silk Wood

Signs that spring has started are all around in Silk Wood – but for the time being these are not the obvious shows of colour, but green shoots, buds and the early stages of blossom.

Silk Wood is beautiful when its carpets of bluebells are in full show. Walk along The Link this week and you’ll see green bluebell shoots under the trees and amongst the grass. The excitement of the colour these will bring in a few weeks will really get a spring in your step!

The Link stretches from Palmer Ride to Broad Drive – as you go along the freshly laid woodchip path you will also see other early spring wildflowers such as primroses.

Further along in the Cherry Collection a few of the specimens such as Prunus cerasifera Purple flash and Prunus cerasifera ‘Hessei’ Cherry plum are blossoming.

There’s still much more to be seen in the Cherry Collection in the weeks to come, but the beauty of these few specimens already in flower remind you of why the Japanese celebrate these trees so heavily in spring.

As we track the progression of autumn colour across the country, the Japanese Meteorological Agency and the public track the sakura zensen (cherry blossom front) as it moves northward. This tracking of blossom is monitored and relayed to the public as part of the nightly weather forecasts!

Another of the cherry family, Cornus mas or Cornelian cherry stands tall at Skilling Gate, waiting to greet visitors into Silk Wood, or bid farewell as they leave.

Useful links

More information about spring at Westonbirt

Become a member of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum