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The May Tree in the British Landscape

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is one of the most familiar trees in Britain, though it rarely grows tall enough to command attention from a distance. You will find it in hedgerows, along woodland edges, in scrubby corners and in old pasture, where its dense, thorny growth makes it a living fence. Country names for it include quickthorn, whitethorn and the May tree, each pointing to a different part of its character: quick to root, white with blossom, and inseparable from the turning of the year.

Its arrival in flower is a genuine event. In most years, hawthorn blossoms from late April into May, sometimes earlier in the south and west. The flowers are creamy white, five-petalled and clustered, with a scent that is sweet, slightly almond-like and best caught on still, warm evenings. Look closely and you will see stamens tipped with pink or red anthers. The leaves are deeply lobed, usually with three to five main lobes, and the twigs carry straight, sharp thorns up to about two centimetres long. In autumn, the red haws feed thrushes, redwings, fieldfares and waxwings, and in winter the bare, grey-brown bark and tangled branches give the hedge its structure.

Fairies, Charms and Unlucky Thorns

Hawthorn carries centuries of story. As the May tree, it was central to May Day celebrations: branches were cut on May Eve, brought home and decorated with ribbons, flowers and greenery, or used to make garlands. In some places, young people rose before dawn to wash their faces in May dew gathered from hawthorn leaves and blossoms, a custom believed to bring beauty and luck for the year ahead. The tree was also a protective presence. Sprigs were fixed above doors, in byres and in cradles to keep away harm, and hawthorn was planted in hedges not only because it is stock-proof but because it was thought to guard boundaries.

Yet the same tree could be dangerous if treated carelessly. A solitary hawthorn standing alone in a field was often regarded as a fairy tree, a meeting place for the Good People, and cutting it was thought to bring misfortune. Bringing may blossom indoors was unlucky in many households, associated with illness or death, though the exact belief varied from county to county. These stories are not simply quaint. They encouraged people to leave old, isolated thorns alone, which in turn protected ancient trees, wildlife and landmarks. If you meet a lone hawthorn on a boundary or in the middle of a field, treat it as a piece of living history: photograph it, sketch it, note its shape and setting, but leave your secateurs in your bag.

Keeping a Hawthorn Nature Journal

A nature journal is the simplest way to read hawthorn’s folklore and ecology together. Choose one tree or a stretch of hedge and visit it every week or fortnight for a year. Record the date, time, weather, temperature and what the tree is doing. In spring, note budburst, first leaf and first flower. In summer, watch for bees, hoverflies, moths and the small caterpillars that feed on the leaves. In autumn, count or sketch the haws and note which birds arrive. In winter, draw the thorns, twigs and bark, and mark where old hedge-laying cuts or coppice stools can be seen.

Be specific in your notes. Hawthorn leaves are lobed, not smooth like blackthorn, and hawthorn flowers appear after the leaves, while blackthorn flowers on bare branches. Measure a thorn, rub a leaf between your fingers and describe the scent, or press a single flower to compare with next year’s. Add a column for folklore: what local names do you hear, what customs are remembered, what stories cling to this particular hedge? A pencil, a small watercolour tin and a waterproof notebook are enough. The point is not to make perfect drawings but to build a record of place, season and story that no field guide can give you.

Forest Crafts from Hawthorn Wood

Hawthorn is hard, dense and fine-grained, and it takes a beautiful polish. Traditional craftspeople used it for walking sticks, tool handles, mallets, pegs, toggles, spindles and small carved items. It is also the classic hedge-laying tree: in winter, stems are cut partway through and laid flat to form a living barrier, with hazel binders holding the top. If you want to work with hawthorn, use deadwood or take material from a hedgerow that is being laid, with the landowner’s permission. Never cut a lone thorn or an ancient boundary tree.

After a winter storm, fallen hawthorn branches are excellent material. Choose straight stems for a walking stick, strip the bark while the wood is green, then hang it in a dry, airy shed to season slowly. Rushing the drying will cause splits. Once dry, sand the stick, oil it with linseed or walnut oil and add a leather or cord grip if you like. Smaller pieces make strong handles for knives, awls and fire steels, or simple carved pegs for a coat rack. Hawthorn also burns hot and slowly, making it a fine winter firewood once seasoned. As you work, keep your journal nearby and note how the wood smells, how it carves and what folklore you associate with the tree.

May Dew, Foraging and Seasonal Care

Modern May Day customs still borrow from hawthorn. Some villages decorate a May bush or make garlands, and many people gather hawthorn dew at dawn as a gentle nod to older traditions. If you want to bring a little may into your home, take a few blossoms from a garden hedge or a hedge that is regularly trimmed, and leave the ancient thorns untouched. Better still, celebrate from a distance: walk to a hawthorn hedge at first light, listen for the first chiffchaff, and write down what you see.

Hawthorn is also useful in the kitchen. Young leaves and flowers can be added sparingly to salads, and the haws make a bright, tart jelly, ketchup or fruit leather. They are fiddly because of the single large seed, so cook them with a little water, strain through a jelly bag, then sweeten to taste. Avoid foraging from busy roadsides or sprayed hedges, and never rely on a plant for medicine without qualified advice, especially if you take heart medication. The warmest way to honour the May tree is to plant one. A hawthorn hedge gives nesting birds, pollinators and small mammals a corridor through the landscape, and it will grow into a storehouse of seasonal notes, craft material and stories for whoever comes after you.