Cherry plum

We have several pink cherry plum trees. They're all quite weedy, with an excess of spindly, twiggy growth, and they never set fruit... but I think you can see why I tolerate them. Cherry plum is always the first blossom to open here, and is therefore susceptible to wintry weather. The big white cherry plum in the hedgerow along the lane from us suffered very badly in the recent storms, and isn't really worth photographing now, but our pink blossom opens just a little later than the white, which has stood it in good stead this year.

I took this photo while I was rummaging around the garden for invertebrates, after walking around the nearby Vale Landscape Heritage Trust orchard in search of birds. I had found birds - yellowhammers, corn buntings, skylarks, and a kestrel - but I wasn't especially happy with any of today's photos of them; and similarly, I did find insects in the garden, but nothing I haven't already posted over the past few days. So the cherry plum it is then - forgiveable, I think, for being so pretty, and cheery, and for the promise it brings that lots more spring blossom will be emerging over the next few weeks.