here is a secret happening on your daily walk right now: look up and you’ll see that many of those bare tree branches aren’t bare at all. They’re hosting a tiny world of flowers, some so small they are easily overlooked. Trees that are flowering now – from alder to maple – aren’t enticing insects. Their blooms are designed for wind pollination, so they aren’t showy. But what they lack in colourful petals they make up for in a mastery of design: they are an ode to the west wind of spring, Zephyr. The most prominent of these are catkins: slim, cylindrical flower-clusters with no petals. The male catkins either dangle to release puffs of pollen, or stick out like a paintbrush, spraying out their masses with a flick of the wind. The female flowers, with their stigmas and styles (the sticky appendages and tubes to catch passing pollen), may look insignificant, but they are ergonomically genius. These tiny flowers wave on the edges of branches, channelling the air swirling around them to trap the wind-blown pollen. The first flowers to appear are the bright yellow male catkins of our common hazel, Corylus avellana, followed swiftly by the small female ones. These are easily missed, but a few days after the yellow pollen is shed, the brilliant red styles appear – tiny but quite marvellous. Find hazel growing in hedgerows and woodlands. These are followed by the alders. First is our common alder, Alnus glutinosa, often found growing by streams and canals: the male catkins are dull purple, turning to dark yellow as they release their pollen. The small female flowers are deep purple in bud, opening to a rich dark red. It’s worth looking out for the common alder’s cousin, the European grey alder, often seen growing on streets and reclaimed land. The male catkins of these start off yellow and turn a brilliant rosewood pink as they mature. Then there’s the North American silver maple, Acer saccharinum, often found in parks, which has brilliant red female flowers with two long stigmas. For the foragers among you, there is the cherry (or Myrobalan) plum, the first of the fruit trees to flower. These tiny white blossoms appear at the end of dark, spiny stems. In time, the blooms are followed by small yellow plums that are sour when raw, but delicious baked in a tarte. This exquisite, tiny world is visible only for the next few months while the branches remain leafless. There are countless, more exuberant tree blossoms to come as spring unfurls, but right now, when it seems so improbable, there’s still magic happening – and we all need a little of that.