Cherry blossom sunset by afagen
Two enduring memories this GardenLady has are of the cherry blossom festivals in Washington, DC and the one in Newark, NJ. If you would love to see the cherry blossoms in bloom, there are Cherry Blossom Festivals throughout the United States. Some festivals have already started with other related events. The festival in Hawaii is almost over when I write this. See here.
There are many species of Japanese cherry trees but the one that seems to be in many of the American parks are the Yoshino cherry tree Prunus x yedoensis which is a fast growing but short lived tree- 10 to 20 years. These have fragrant flowers and very small fruit that is popular with domestic and migratory songbirds and small mammals. Their flowers provide pollen for bees. You can purchase cherry trees to plant in your own yard through the Arbor Day foundation. See here.
Macon, Georgia bills itself as the “cherry blossom capital of the world. ” They say they have 300,000 flowering Yoshino cherry trees. Their cherry blossom festival has already started. See here.
In 1926, in honor of the 150th anniversary of American Independence, Japan gave cherry trees to Philadelphia. Then in 1998, The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia began a ten-year, 1,000 tree planting campaign, which was completed in 2007. Greater Philadelphia’s Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival is going on now. This festival, with many events, celebrates the goodwill between Philadelphia and Japan as embodied by the cherry trees.
Washington, DC has the cherry blossom festival from (see here) March 26th through April 10th but is predicting the peak blooming period of the cherry blossoms from MARCH 29 – APRIL 3!
San Fransisco’s Cherry Festival will be on April 9 & 10, 16 & 17, 2011.
Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ (see here) has more than 2,700 Japanese cherry trees. The Cherry blossom Festival runs from April 9- April 17.
There are other cherry blossom festivals in the US, Canada, England, Australia, etc. but TheGardenLady does not have the 2011 dates for them. (See here)
Expect huge crowds when you go. San Francisco says they have over 200,000 people attend. So be prepared. But I think the experience is worth it. Be patient.