Blossom-day Fruit Watch, Swan Barn Orchard

​​The team was photo bombed by this lovely flock of Herdwicks that graze the Orchard

​On National Blossom Day, ten Friends of Swan Barn Orchard met-up and made an inventory of the trees and their blossom in the 100-year-old Traditional Orchard, noting the percentage of flowers open and any maintenance issues that needed to be rectified at each tree. We took part in some Citizen Science by uploading the blossom percentage of each tree to Fruit Watch, organised by Reading University, who are concerned about early fruiting trees, not syncing with bees and other pollinators on the wing during Spring: 

https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2022/Research-News/Fruitwatch-launch