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Spring in Your Step

Spring in Your Step2023-11-22T11:59:18+00:00

April – May

Let’s celebrate Spring!

Taking a walk in springtime can be an invigorating and therapeutic experience for both mind and body. It allows you to enjoy the rejuvenating sights, sounds, and scents of nature coming to life after winter, and the fresh air, vibrant blooms, and increased sunlight can improve your mental wellbeing whilst improving your fitness and overall health.

Spring

Take part

Each spring, The Tree Council publishes a series of walking routes across the UK that take in remarkable trees and spectacular sites. Please visit this page again soon for updates and details.

Listen to our forest bathing audio

Forest bathing is basically taking a mindful stroll through nature to boost your health and wellbeing. And guess what? It’s perfect for us Brits!

With our busy lives and unpredictable weather, it’s a great way to slow down and relax. Forest bathing has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, and even boost our immune systems. Plus, spending time in nature can help us feel more connected and appreciative of the world around us. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Journeys In Nature to create a free forest bathing audio!

Blossom ID guide

Our blossom ID guide helps nature enthusiasts and hikers identify and appreciate the diverse flora they encounter, enhancing their understanding of the environment and fostering a deeper connection with the natural world.

Ash

Ash

  • When: April – May
  • Flower: dark purple glowers growing in spiked clusters at the end of twigs
  • Tree: pale brown bark and dark green leaves
  • Pollination: diocedious tree pollinated by the wind
  • Fact: makes up a part of the Olive tree family
Alder

Aslder

  • When: Feb – April
  • Flower: long yellow catkins (male), or a small purple catkin that will eventually turn into the cone (female)
  • Tree: conical with dark and fissured bark
  • Pollination: monoecious and pollinated by wind.
  • Fact: the only native deciduous tree to have tiny cones
Almond Willow

Almond Willow

  • When: March – May
  • Flower: yellow catkin
  • Tree: Bushy shrub or small tree with flaking bark that reveals a red-brown under-layer and lanceolate leaves.
  • Pollination: dioecious and pollinated by bees
  • Fact: nectar used for honey production and as a biofuel
Aspen

Aspen

  • When: February – May
  • Flower: reddish purple catkins (male) and yellow catkins (female).
  • Tree: light bark, straight trunk with diamond indents and rounded leaves.
  • Pollination: dioecious pollinated by the wind
  • Fact: aspen bark was some of the first forms of paper
Beech

Beech

  • When: April – May
  • Flower: small, greenish-yellow catkins hanging from slender stalks
  • Tree: Tall, deciduous trees with smooth grey bark and serrated leaves.
  • Pollination: momoecious and pollinated by wind
  • Fact: important source of food for wildlife including bank vole.
Bird Cherry

Bird Cherry

  • When: April – May

  • Flower: small, white, fragrant flowers growing in elongated hanging clusters.

  • Tree: small decidous trees with dark bark and serrated leaves
  • Pollination: monoecious and pollinated by insects
  • Fact: leaves contain anti-inflammatory properties
Blackthorn

Blackthorn

  • When: March – June
  • Flower: white petals and yellow stamens
  • Tree: dark, spiky bark and small, oval, deciduous green leaves
  • Pollination: hermaphrodite pollinated by insects
  • Fact: source of food for a huge range of insects, particularly caterpillars
Crab Apple

Crab Apple

  • When: April – June
  • Flower: small, pink/white/red petals arranged in cup shape with pistil.
  • Tree: grey bark, oval green serrated leaves
  • Pollination: hermaphrodites pollinated by insects
  • Fact: contain a high amount of pectin, a natural thickener used to make jam
Creeping Willow

Creeping Willow

  • When: April – May
  • Flower: yellow-green catkins
  • Tree: bark is greyish brown with slight narrow leaves
  • Pollination: dioecious and pollinated by insects
  • Fact: the active ingredient in aspirin was first isolated from willow bark.
Cherry Plum

Cherry Plum

  • When: March – April
  • Flower: delicate pink or white flowers in small clusters.
  • Tree: reddish-brown bark and serrated, deciduous leaves.
  • Pollination: monoecious pollinated by insects
  • Fact: used for jams and liqueurs
Elm

Elm

  • When: February – April
  • Flower: small greenish-red flowers on drooping clusters
  • Tree: rough, fissured bark; oval, serrated, asymmetrical leaves.
  • Pollination: monoecious pollinated by wind
  • Fact: elm bark was used to make the famous English longbow
European Lime

European Lime

  • When: May – June

  • Flower: small creamy yellow in clusters
  • Tree: greyish-brown bark with furrows and heart-shaped leaves
  • Pollination: monocecious and pollinated by insects
  • Fact: lime wood is commonly used to make guitars and violins
Field Maple

Field Maple

  • When: May – June
  • Flower: small and delicate clusters of yellow flowers
  • Tree: small with smooth greyish-brown bark and lobed, palmate leaves.
  • Pollination: hermaphrodite pollinated by insects
  • Fact: found mainly on lime-rich soils in woodland

Hawthorne

  • When: May – June
  • Flower: small white or pink in dense clusters.
  • Tree: gray-brown with fissures and lobed leaves
  • Pollination: hermaphrodite pollinated by insects
  • Fact: one of our hedgerow’ most commmon species

Hornbeam

  • When: April – May
  • Flower: dangling yellow catkins
  • Tree: smooth grey bark with ribbed leaves and a rounded crown
  • Pollination: monoecious and pollinated by wind
  • Fact: one of the hardest woods in europe and was often used for machinery including parts like cogs.

Oak

  • When: April – May
  • Flower: small, green or yellow, arranged in catkins
  • Tree: Thick, furrowed bark; lobed leaves with prominent veins.
  • Pollination: monoecious pollinated by wind
  • Fact: The UK has the vast majority of Europe’s ancient oaks

Pear

  • When: April – May
  • Flower: small and white 5-petal flowers with red stamens
  • Tree: tall with oval green leaves and gray bark
  • Pollination: pollinated by insects, particularly bees, usually hermaphrodites
  • Fact: can produce fruit for 50-75 years

Quince

  • When: May – June
  • Flower: pink, red or white flowers with yelloe center
  • Tree: grey-brown bark, oval fuzzy leaves
  • Pollination: monocecious pollinated by insects and bees
  • Fact: quince fruit was cultivated for thousands of years by romans and greeks

Rowan

  • When: May – June
  • Flower: clustered creamy-white flowers
  • Tree: tall conical shappe with grey-brown bark and pinnate leaves
  • Pollination: hermaphrodite pollinated by insects
  • Fact: rowan berries are used to make wine

Silver Birch

  • When: April – May
  • Flower: yellow-brown 1-2 inch catkins
  • Tree: white peeling bark with green triangular leaves.
  • Pollination: monoecious pollinated by wind
  • Fact: silver birch trees have very shallow root systems

Small Leaved Lime

  • When: June – July

  • Flower: yellow-white, fragrant flowers arranged in clusters

  • Tree: grey bark with heart-shaped leaves

  • Pollination: monocecious pollinated by insects
  • Fact: used for medicinal purposes

Small Leaved Lime

  • When: June – July
  • Flower: long yellow catkins
  • Tree: tall with dark furrowed bark and serrated leaves
  • Pollination: monocecious pollinated by wind
  • Fact: a popular food across the world, sweet chestnuts are a rich source of vitamin C

Sycamore

  • When: May – October

  • Flower: yellow hanging panicles

  • Tree: mottled, peeling bark with large, lobed leaves

  • Pollination: hermaphrodite pollinated by insects
  • Fact: sycamores were introduced to the UK by the Romans

Weeping Willow

  • When: April – June
  • Flower: striking yellow catkins
  • Tree: grey and deeply fissured bark with long slender, lance-shaped leaves
  • Pollination: diocedious pollinated by insects

  • Fact: wood is used to make cricket bats and planting weeping willows is a fantastic way of preventing flooding

Whitebeam

  • When: May
  • Flower: creamy white flowers
  • Tree: rounded crown and a smooth, grayish-brown bark with serrated, oval, green.
  • Pollination: hermaphrodite pollinated by insects
  • Fact: leaves inspired the shape of the British pound symbol

Wild Cherry

  • When: April
  • Flower: clusters of delicate white covering the tree
  • Tree: bark is smooth, shiny, and reddish-brown with toothed and glossy leaves
  • Pollination: hermaphrodite pollinated by insects
  • Fact: wood used for smoking English hams

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