'Ring of blossom' to line Birmingham streets

Birmingham already has a famous blossom spot - Oozells Square at Brindleyplace

Hundreds of blossoming trees are going to be planted in Birmingham to create a "ring of blossom" around the city.

The scheme will follow the planting of dozens of blossoming trees in the city centre as part of the 2022 festival, the National Trust said.

More than 500 trees will be installed in autumn 2022 to create the ring, following the number 11 bus route.

The plans aim to reverse a huge loss in the number of orchards in England and Wales since the 1900s, the trust added.

Birmingham has been known historically as a "town ringed by blossom", having once been surrounded by gardens and orchards.

The city has one well-known blossom location which each spring attracts large numbers of photographers - Oozells Square at Brindleyplace.

Beautiful photographs from Oozells Square have once again started to appear on Instagram.

The blossom images frequently include the Ikon Gallery

Oozells Square gets its name from Oozells Street that ran on the site before the development of Brindleyplace

There are more than 52,000 photographs on Instagram with the hashtag blossomwatch

The hope for the Birmingham planting is to create a UK version of Japan's Hanami - the celebration of flowers and spring

But research for the National Trust says there are 80,000 (198,000 acres) fewer hectares of traditionally managed orchards now, a decline of 81% on a century ago.

The project is part of a wider plan to plant blossoming trees in different cities around the UK to improve access to nature for those in towns and cities.

Instagram has an oozellssquare hashtag with more than 500 images

Ahead of the Commonwealth Games in July in Birmingham, the National Trust will install more than 50 trees along with colourful benches in the city centre.

They include ornamental cherry, apple, pear and plum trees and will be in place for six weeks at St Phillip's Cathedral square and Edgbaston Street.

Local communities will then work with the trust on the autumn planting which will be along the 27 miles (43km) of the number 11 bus route.

The move aims to recreate the "shadow" of past orchards which once encircled the city, Annie Reilly, from the National Trust, said.

"Our trees will join the city's thousands of street trees to ensure that more of the city can enjoy this fleeting moment of spring," she said.

The drive to increase the number of trees around Birmingham city centre comes ahead of this summer's Commonwealth Games

Stone sculptured seats and a pergola also feature in Oozells Square