'til May is out

Having spent Sunday afternoon cutting back the Hawthorn Hedge at the bottom of the allotment to a more respectable six feet, I thought I would have a look at the famous Hawthorn and find a few things out about it. 
For one it's very spiky, some varieties have been known to grow thorns up to four and a half inches. I always thought it looked a bit like a rose and it turns out that it is of the same family, suddenly it all fell into place because Crataegus  (Hawthorn) hurts just as much as Rosaceae (Rose)  even through my gardening gloves.

My Grandpa said that they used to use the thorns to play 78s, probably a bit quieter than needles and a lot cheaper as you get one play per needle and the same with thorns I expect.

The Glastonbury Thorn, C. Oxyacantha var. praecox, was supposedly brought to these shores by Joseph of Arimathea on his travels round the country. He carried with him a staff from the Holy Land and legend has it that when feeling a bit tired on the Isle of Avalon he sat down and pushed his staff into the ground, it took root and the Glastonbury thorn was born.

After cutting back the hedge on Sunday I know how he felt, but as for growing Hawthorn by sticking cuttings into the ground now that is a bit more difficult. I think the best way to get new Hawthorns is to dig up the seedlings that have been spread by the birds and pot them on.

Hawthorns prosper after being cut back and the best time should be after flowering, but then you are into the nesting season and I am always reluctant to cut down the blossom. I have left it a bit late to cut back the hedge this year, but then we've had a late Spring; I should have done it late February to Mid March.

As they say “ne’er cast a clout ‘til may is out” although it has been very nice weather for the past few days, the evening and nights can be quite chilly. Last week the frost did get some of my potatoes that were just peeping through the soil. The ‘may’ referred to in the saying is the May Flower or Hawthorn blossom and at home the Hawthorn at the bottom of my garden and along the canal towpath is only just green not a blossom in sight, so keep your jumpers on.