The Guardian

Poet laureate celebrates spring blossom with ode to a plum tree

Tobi Thomas

The poet laureate, Simon Armitage, has paid homage to spring in celebration of World Poetry Day today.

His poem Plum Tree Among the Skyscrapers is the first in a collection inspired by blossom and commissioned by the National Trust. Its publication also marks the start of spring and the beginning of the trust’s annual festival of blossom.

Armitage’s collection of poems and other creative works, including music, will be brought together by the poet and his band LYR in collaboration with communities and creatives. It aims to raise awareness of the trust’s blossom campaign and help people celebrate blossom in ways that is meaningful to them.

The trust will be planting orchards at sites to include Brockhampton in Herefordshire, Bateman’s in East Sussex, Arlington Court in Devon and Carrick-a-Rede in County Antrim, as well as circles of blossom trees in cities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. New urban blossom spaces are being created in locations including Birmingham, Swindon, Manchester and Leeds.

In his poem, Armitage celebrates the tree, writing: “But she’s here to stay – / plum in the middle – / and today she’s fizzing / with light and colour, / outshining the smug sculptures / and blubbering fountains.”

The poet said: “The National Trust is one of the great British institutions, a guardian of our past, present and future. When I became poet laureate in 2019, I made the environment a cornerstone of my work and my activities, so to be working with the National Trust on a project that celebrates the annual renewal of the natural world was a perfect fit.

“For this first poem, I was particularly keen to examine how nature might flourish in our urban landscapes, and the tenacity of trees to be able to adapt to the most unlikely places. There is both ecstasy and melancholy associated with blossom, in its coming and its going; blossom trees are powerful metaphors for our own existence, as well as important indicators of the health of the planet.”

Andy Jasper, the head of gardens and parklands at the trust, said: “Simon’s poem is a wonderful reminder of the need to cherish the powerful connections we all have with the natural world. While these rhythms of life appear to last for millennia, we know they are vulnerable, particularly in a changing climate.

“The National Trust’s blossom campaign is a celebration of the fleeting beauty of blossom and a celebration of spring not just in our wonderful gardens and parklands, but also throughout urban areas in every region and country of the UK. It is the investment in, and belief of, a future that will be there ‘for everyone, for ever’, as we say, that makes this campaign and Simon’s poem so relevant and wonderful.”

The trust’s festival of blossom gets under way this week, with blossomthemed events and activities taking place throughout spring at more than 100 locations across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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2023-03-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

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