This April, London bursts into life as spring takes hold. From the kaleidoscope of colours in blooming gardens to the symphony of birdsong in woodlands, the city transforms into a vibrant tapestry of nature. Witness the magic of cherry blossoms lining the streets, the first swallows returning from distant lands, and the unforgettable sapphire blue carpets of native bluebells in local woods. Gardens come alive with daffodils giving way to tulips, while parks and green spaces hum with the energy of courting birds and budding trees. Don’t miss the full story of April’s awakening on 01 April. Return to explore the sights, sounds, and colours of London’s most enchanting season, where every corner tells a story of renewal and beauty!
Article
Introduction
April is the first full month of spring and at last days are longer than nights. It is traditionally fickle when it comes to the weather. Brilliant skies are typical, with magnificent cloud formations which can quickly change to thick cloud, strong winds or warm showers. It is a time of remarkably rapid plant growth, especially noticeable during warm periods. Then again it can occasionally ‘wear its white hat’ with frost and snow. Strong, quick colour changes are also typical, both in the greens of the landscape and the blues and greys of the skies. Sunshine and showers, the ‘sighs and smiles’ of April, bring the most colourful and most welcome of all weather phenomena, rainbows.
April is a marvellous month for birdwatching. All our resident birds are singing and also one or two of the summer visitors recently returned from the Riviera and Africa. There is much activity with courting, nesting and rearing young. Birds are less timid than at other times of the year as they may be pre-occupied showing off to their mates or building nests. Having heard the first chiffchaff, birdwatchers are now looking for their first swallow and perhaps even a cuckoo. There is an overall feeling that London’s lakes are getting quieter and its woodlands getting noisier. The dawn chorus gradually increases as the month goes on.
For the first time, wild flowers are seen in numbers. This may be dandelions back again in the streets or celandine and anemones in the woods. Wood anemones will give way to bluebells as the month progresses and perhaps the first orchids, so deciduous woodland is fast becoming a place to spend more time. London streets are awash with cherries and magnolias and gardens are full of daffodils, which will gradually give way to tulips.
“When proud-pied April, dress’d in all is trim
Hath put a spirit of youth in everything”
Shakespeare
Colour
April is a month of many different colours. It starts with a kaleidoscope of different greens, soft reds and tans as trees burst into leaf. Lively, even shiny greens predominate when the leaves are fresh. The upturned leaves of whitebeams stand out in London’s streets, being a powdered sage green, as does the vivid green of lime trees. At the beginning of the month there are still great splashes of yellow with Forsythia in gardens. Dandelions on waste ground and rape in fields take over as the month progresses. Looking across a landscape, the dull white of blackthorn is being taken over by the emerald green of hawthorn; then comes the softer white of wild cherries.
In more urban areas it is the magnolias that dominate the early part of the month with their milky violets. This moves on to cherry time, which is predominantly white and pink. In gardens, the strident blues of different Ceonothus varieties stand out, as does the orange yellow of Jew’s Mallow Kerria japonica. By the end of the month it is lilac time. Different again are the colours in public parks and gardens. Daffodil time gives way to all the different colours of tulips. By the end of the month there is virtually no colour that cannot be found in gardens, due to the huge number of new plants coming into flower.
Woods have a more muted progression of colour. Early in the month the vibrant blues and purples of ground ivy, violets and bugle predominated. In some woods on the North Downs this gets completely overtaken by white patches of anemones. Later in the month, one of the colour highlights of the year occurs with the unforgettable sapphire blue of our native wild bluebells. Generally though, green dominates the month, the last trees coming into leaf providing a new green backdrop to all habitats. The bare, grey landscape of winter has at last gone.
