There is no need to go very far to enjoy one of the annual highlights of Helensburgh and Lomond – the spring blossom on the town's street trees.
Despite Storm Kathleen causing the petals on some of the early cherry trees to fall like confetti in the strong winds there is plenty more flower power still to come.
The daffodils on Sinclair Street and at Helensburgh Sailing Club have been particularly cheerful this year and all around Helensburgh, the Peninsula and the villages magnificent magnolias are in full flower. There are eleven magnolias in flower at Glenarn at the moment, and numerous species and hybrid rhododendrons, it is a sight not to be missed.
There are only four magnolias at the Botanic Gardens at Benmore and the passion of our forebears for collecting rhododendrons and magnolias, which take decades to reach full flowering potential, found in so many of the large gardens in Helensburgh is one of the things that makes Helensburgh so special and worthy of its moniker as the Garden City of the Clyde.
There are nearly 3,000 street trees in Helensburgh and we have the only urban tree collection included in the National Tree Collections of Scotland.
The white cherry trees alongside the dual carriageway at the east entrance to Helensburgh are always amongst the earliest to appear, and have been flowering for a couple of weeks. Then there are some magnificent mature cherry trees on Lomond Street that follow them.
This year we have seen the young white cherry trees on West King Street flowering generously for the first time as they become established, and West Princes Street and John Street are also now just coming into flower.
On West Argyle Street and Colquhoun Street, the buds of the pink cherry blossom are starting to show colour and will soon burst into the glorious display that delights us every year. And then there are the apples and pears to follow.
At Destination Helensburgh we are posting regular updates on where the blossom is coming out as part of #BlossomWatch. This helps promote the town to visitors too and we note an increase in Glasgow based students from the Far East coming to visit to enjoy the blossom, reminiscent of the Japanese Hanami tradition.
At this time of year a short walk around Helensburgh will delight the senses with cherry, camelia, rhododendrons and magnolias aplenty.
One of the loveliest white cherry trees is in the kitchen garden at Hermitage Park. During the restoration of the park, despite the change of use of the old play park area to a kitchen garden, the cherry tree was retained, whether it would go with beans and potatoes or not!
Whilst the citizens of Helensburgh have been planting street trees since the 1860s, today we have one local organisation to thank for the magnificent display we enjoy every year and for the overall loveliness of Helensburgh’s tree lined streets, namely the Helensburgh Tree Conservation Trust.
The Trust is always looking for new members and volunteers and even if you can’t physically volunteer at only £10 a year for membership, it is a small price to pay to support their efforts in keeping Helensburgh such a beautiful town.
The pleasure the blossom trees bring us every year, in addition to the vital contribution they make towards biodiversity, pollinators and combatting climate change, makes us very lucky indeed.
To support the Trust and find out more about their work, simply go to treetrust.co.uk.
We have Trust leaflets with a map of all the flowering street trees available for free at our visitor information centre on Sinclair Street, and magnets and car stickers supporting the Trust are also available for a small donation.
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