A Spring Clean for the May Queen.

The Queen of the May wears a crown of hawthorn flowers, in folklore. Hawthorns were treated with respect by ancient communities, as their roots were said to shelter the homes of fairies; not the benign Tinkerbell kind, the darker creatures, the Fae, the sort who tricked youths into becoming their captives, or replaced babes in the cradle with their changelings. Hawthorns were thought to straddle the liminal space between our world and the underworld, and lingering near a lone thorn particularly on May Day, Summer Solstice or Halloween would expose the unwary to danger.

May Flower is the common name for hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, and the tree is associated with Spring fertility rites, symbolising love and protection. The beautiful flowers froth along the hedgerows like white clouds, and are an important food source for insect pollinators. Honey bees are particularly fond of them.

As a child, my Grandma would be horrified if I tried to bring the flowers into the house, she said it was the Devil's tree. Possibly a reaction to the tree's pagan associations, but hawthorn also has connections to the Black Death. The smell of the blossom is supposedly like the smell that permeated London in the great plague. This folklore is based in scientific fact. Hawthorne blossom releases the chemical trimethylamine, which is also produced by decomposing bodies. It was thought that if blossom was brought into the house, death would visit the household soon after.

In spite of these negative associations, hawthorn was historically an important forage tree, with the young leaves and buds being a regular source of free food, gaining the common name 'bread and cheese'. Both the blossom and the berries were used in wine making and jellies.

The name May Flower may be a little misleading, as with the effects of climate change, the flowering time is coming forward in the year. The first blossom used to be in early May in the South of the country, mid to late May the further North you went. With milder Springs, Hawthorn is now flowering in April in the South, and is just coming out here in the Midlands in early May. This year has seen the warmest, wettest Spring since records began in 1836, according to Met office data. As gardeners, we will need to adapt our planting schemes and garden lay-outs over the next few decades as the climate changes. Flooding and water logged soil is likely to be more common as the world becomes warmer and wetter.

Whilst mainly used as a hedging plant in gardens, there are several very pretty pink flowered hawthorn varieties available that merit a place as a specimen tree in larger gardens. Paul's Scarlet is particularly robust, an excellent choice for more exposed sites. It has pretty, deep pink double blooms, and the berries can be used in jams and jellies. Plant some hawthorn, and who knows? You might see some fairies at the bottom of the garden. Just remember, always be polite and don't sign anything.