hanami

I chose this cherry tree and planted it with my then housemate. I even invited some friends round to see the tree planted. Because every garden should have a tree, and every garden has a tree that suits it. This one is a Prunus Hilleri Spire, which combines a classic open pink blossom with a tidy, upright habit, which is sometimes described as vase-like, but which makes me think of a firework fountain, especially when it sparkles pink in spring, or flames red in the autumn.



     

Crab spiders love the cherry tree, too. If you look closely at the top picture, you can see one making a victory wave; and in the bottom left, joyfully consuming a honey bee.

It's come a long way, this little cherry tree. Here it is in earlier days, freshly planted (2005) and a few years in. I'm so used to it being huge that the second picture makes me look like a giant!



Here it is just a couple of years ago, a rather more dominant presence. The huge slick of primroses under it were gifted to me as a few plants from a Betty, who was a volunteer with me at the Oxfam bookshop. They're all over the place nowadays, and not just in this garden.



It's not my tree any more, but it's always a pleasure to visit it.