My mum always said that summer was on its way when the May blossom appeared. She was a Gloucestershire girl and the country name for our native Hawthorn is May. It is a tree steeped in folklore and bringing its flowers indoors was often seen as a sign of bad luck. Probably more to do with its unpleasant smell, not unlike rotting flesh. Recently it has been shown that trimethylamine, which is formed when animal tissues decay, is present in hawthorn flowers.

I’m not giving this tree a great build up, so what benefits are there to planting it in your garden? Well, as the name suggests, Hawthorn has sharp thorns on its branches which provide a safe nesting place for birds. There are increasingly fewer such places in our gardens. Crataegus monogyna also offers good varied seasonal interest, starting with rich green, lobed, glossy foliage that acts as a foil to single white flowers. After flowering, small dark red haws are produced – popular with the birds and can be used to make wine, jellies and ketchups. The leaves turn yellow and bronze in the autumn before falling. Hawthorn is also tolerant of a wide range of situations.

Crataegus monogyna is often used in native hedging mixes, but as a tree you can expect a height and spread of 5 x 4 metres in 20 years. Look around you at the moment and it’s what fills the hedgerows with billowing clouds of white blossom. Just don’t go near it for a sniff!