Let’s celebrate Spring more than ever – The Yorkshire Post says

THE first blossom of spring is one of the wonders of nature that can still stop us in our tracks at this time of year. Sadly, the cherry trees that line The Grove in Ilkley and The Stray in Harrogate will be go little noticed this time around.
Prunus subhirtella rosea Cherry in bloom during spring in the wall garden at Nymans Gardens, West Sussex.Prunus subhirtella rosea Cherry in bloom during spring in the wall garden at Nymans Gardens, West Sussex.
Prunus subhirtella rosea Cherry in bloom during spring in the wall garden at Nymans Gardens, West Sussex.

The Japanese have a word for this ritual of celebrating the changing seasons – Hanami – and we welcome the National Trust’s initiative in trying to popularise it here, especially in the current climate. Pictures taken by those fortunate enough to be able to see the colour from their windows, the reasoning goes, might help lift the spirits of others.

Only around one in 15 Britons take the time to do anything other than stand and occasionally gawp at the spectacles which mark out nature’s calendar – not just the blossom but the autumn harvest and the summer and winter solstice. The rest of us take them for granted.

That should not be the case in a year when almost nothing else is certain. Let us count the blossom, and our blessings.

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