

When rural hedgerows in the British Isles explode into frothy white blossom in May, hawthorn makes itself noticed. Other common names for Crateagus—maythorn, white thorn—are self-explanatory. In autumn it is unavoidable again, dripping with blood-red haws.
As a tree, hawthorn is rustic and untamed, even in its designer clothes (C. laevigata ‘Paul’s Scarlet’ sports magenta blossom and an RHS Award of Garden Merit). Like Heathcliff in the drawing room, hawthorn prefers to be wuthering, in wind, rain, and flashes of sun.