Take inspiration from Japan’s ‘hanami’ and immerse yourself in the fleeting beauty of blossom here in Kent

Japan's Hanami Festival, an annual event that sees people follow the fleeting blossom and picnic under the trees, translates as "looking at flowers". For centuries, it has been synonymous with a reverence for cherry blossom, sakura. After the bleakness of winter, the blooming of the cherries indicates that spring has truly arrived. Not only is the beauty of the blossom on the trees admired but also the gentle cascading confetti of the delicate petals softly falling as you stroll, which the Japanese call Hana no ame, or ‘flower rain’.

Here in Kent, we can enjoy Hanami too - let’s celebrate not only cherries, though, but all forms of blossom on the bough.

Beautiful Brogdale

Great British Life: Blossom time at BrogdaleBlossom time at Brogdale (Image: Tom La Dell)
Brogdale near Faversham is home to the National Fruit Collection, the largest collection of temperate fruits in the world, curated by the University of Reading, with 3,200 cultivars of apples, pears, plums, cherries, cobnuts, quinces and grapes. Visitors are thus ensured of a vast and spectacular display of spring blossom. As the trees flower at different times, the beauty unfolds over several weeks, first abundant on the bough and then with the petal confetti carpeting the ground. Check the website for blossom forecast updates. While there isn't a Hanami Festival this year as there's been in the past, Orchard Pass holders can take part in a spring blossom tour with an expert guide or wander independently. Families attending the ticketed Easter at Brogdale weekend will also have the lovely opportunity to enjoy the orchards in blossom time.
And a recent initiative at Brogdale is the planting of a new ornamental cherry orchard - well worth a visit even though of course the trees are currently immature. The informal planting - featuring a vast range of varieties - is designed to faciltate strolling, with a central glade you can walk through to view the trees in the round. The orchard also offers plenty of inspiration for anyone looking for a cherry for their own garden: "From the narrow crowns of Prunus ‘Amanogawa’ to the rounded crowns of ‘Matsumae-fuki’ to the spreading ‘Tai-haku’, the weeping pendula rubra and the cultivars of the shrubby Fuji Cherry (Prunus incisa) there are many choices of trees for gardens of all sizes,” explains trustee and landscape architect Tom La Dell. Individuals can sponsor a tree - perhaps as a wonderful, unusual gift for someone, or a great way of marking the Queen’s ‘Treebilee’, commemorating her 60-year reign.

Great British Life: Budding crab applesBudding crab apples (Image: Leigh Clapp)


National Trust gems
For blossom-spotting elsewhere in the county, the National Trust's Sissinghurst orchard features dainty crab apple blossom and cherries, at Emmetts, the lollipop shaped cherry trees are underplanted with tulips and you'll find plenty of apple blossom at Chartwell, Westerham. In the same neck of the woods, check Hever Castle's website before you visit, so you're up to date with the progress of the various cherry blossom trees by the Moat Restaurant. Then come along when they're at their best, sit at the picnic benches and take time to soak up the scene. In the same area, lovely Chiddingstone Castle boasts an avenue of cherry trees, a beautiful spot for a wander - with the promise of a great tea room to visit afterwards (open from April 3, Sunday to Wednesday inclusive).

Wonderful Walmer
Cherries in the paddock and apple blossom in the orchard make a spectacular sight at Walmer Castle, near Deal, in spring accompanied by carpets of snake’s head fritillaria, set within a mix of formal and informal styles.

On the NGS trail

Great British Life: Blossom graces the entrance to Balmoral CottageBlossom graces the entrance to Balmoral Cottage (Image: Leigh Clapp)
On a smaller scale many of the April opening National Garden Scheme gardens feature blossom. I love the graceful pure white cherry at the entrance to Balmoral Cottage in Benenden, especially appropriate as the garden was once the kitchen garden for the neighbouring manor house of renowned plant collector ‘Cherry’ Collingwood Ingram, who had a particular passion for Japanese flowering cherries and introduced many from Japan.

Great British Life: Amelanchier at Potman's HeathAmelanchier at Potman's Heath (Image: Leigh Clapp)

Potman’s Heath in Wittersham also features a range of blossoming ornamental cherries, apples and amelanchier, accompanied by iridescent tulips and late-flowering narcissi. This large country garden is compartmentalised with fine trees, borders, lawns and productive areas.

A national collection
Finally to complete your hanami don’t miss the opportunity to see the National Collection of flowering cherries at Chris Lane’s Witch Hazel Nursery in Newington, many of which were introduced by Collingwood Ingram, including the Great White Cherry he discovered in 1923.


To know
Brogdale, Faversham
Chiddingstone Castle
The National Trust
Walmer Castle
Hever Castle
ngs.org.uk
Witch Hazel Nursery, Newington
See website for open days to view the cherries


Get the look
Some great blossom choices for your own garden include blackthorn, wild cherry, hawthorn, crab apple, cultivated apples, pears and plums, ornamental cherries
Single flowered blossoms are rich in nectar and pollen and easier for insects to find
Many are suited to the small garden, such as amelanchier, compact cherries, peaches, crab apples, cratageous
Look for trees that have earned the RHS Award of Garden Merit
Underplanting ideas: try tulips, narcissi, muscari, camassias, fritillaries, irises, alliums, alyssum, forget-me-nots, herbs