The Secrets of the Trees
We hold our Mystic Magic in the Forest weekend retreats at Rosliston, in Rosliston National Forest, near Burton upon Trent, just south of Derby in the Midlands. Our retreats are themed, but often include an appreciation of nature, walks, the significance of trees in Spiritual and Pagan history, and their myths and legends. This blog charts the story, in instalments, of those trees, and all of those to be found at Rosliston, around forty species. Each tree is to be found at Rosliston, but may also be found more widely around Great Britain, Europe, North America and beyond.
In these blogs I describe each tree, explain where they are found, what their history is and how they have related to our history. I also explore the myths and legends surrounding the trees in different countries and from different traditions as well as how herbalists have used them to treat human conditions and how products from the trees have been used throughout history. I hope that you enjoy reading these tree blogs as much as I have enjoyed writing them for you. If you would like to come and see them in their natural habitat why not join us for one of our retreats?
Cherry Plum – prunus carisifera
Boasting a purple and orange bark, it is one of the first trees to flower, with purple foliage, white or pink flowers, and orange lenticels, around mid- February. At only 8 metres tall, its fruit is easily gathered and makes a lovely jam which is said to bring courage, tranquillity, and relaxation.
Its rapidly changing flowers in Japanese folklore represent the transience of life, and I is said to have been created by the goddess of Mount Fuji to decorate its lower slopes.
Its slightly twisted, wiry twigs are completely covered in fat buds that open to blush-white saucers studded with pink. For three weeks in very early spring the dark tangle of stems is smothered in pale blossom. It grows as readily in England as on the volcanic slopes of Mount Fuji, a peak often shrouded in low cloud.
