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The Magic of Cherry Blossom
The Magic of Cherry Blossom
Are you enjoying the beauty of cherry blossom season? This magical time of year is a feast for the eyes and soul, as clouds of delicate cherry blossoms briefly appear to dance in the sunlight and then lose their petals, symbolizing the transient nature of life.
Significance In Japan
It is impossible to think of spring in Japan without envisioning a sea of pink cherry blossom, an image deeply rooted in that nation’s cultural heritage. In Japanese culture cherry blossom has profound philosophical significance. It symbolizes new beginnings. In Japan, April 1st is the start of the financial and academic new year.
Japan’s cherry blossom season is uniformly pink because seventy percent of the cherry trees are clones of a single variety, Somei-yoshino. This helps explain why Japanese cherry blossom culture, the sakura, is so strong; with flowering confined to a defined period of around eight days each year. The fleeting nature of the season serves as a reminder to cherish the present moment, and to embrace change with humility.
Cherry Blossom In Britain
You don’t need to travel to Tokyo to experience the wonder of cherry blossom. Britain has its own impressive displays. Here, you will encounter a greater selection of cherry trees planted in our parks and gardens. This diversity means that our trees bloom over a longer period, from mid-March until mid-May. As one variety opens its flowers and finishes it is overlapped by another, resulting in a relay of colour across the country. And what a show it is! Cherry blossom comes in a range of colours, including red, hot pink, pompadour rose, baby pink, cream, ivory, and even greenish – with many being multicoloured. The flowers range from simple singles through to full frilly doubles. Place a flouncy cherry flower on your hand and you will notice its clamminess; the fresh petals are not papery.
This year, in particular, the blossoms are magnificent thanks to a combination of unusual weather conditions. Winter cold snaps were followed by a wet February, and then a dry March that passed into April with sunshine and daytime warmth. The relentless sunshine, due to something called an Omega blocking pattern, has brought different varieties of cherry tree into flower simultaneously.
Blossom Time at Kew Gardens
This week, I visited Kew with my colleague and friend Kathy to experience the magic of cherry blossom. We managed to catch the last day of the ‘Sounds of Blossom’ exhibition, a collaboration between Kew Gardens and the Royal College of Music. Abundant blossoms were complemented by compositions inspired by the magic of spring, creating a delightful sensory symphony. Every tree selected for its beauty. Their metal labels rattling in the wind forming an avant-garde percussion section, reminding each other of the names and the science. Looking up at cherry branches set against a Spode-blue sky made me think of a loaded paint brush being swirled in water. Close your eyes and you hear a gentle hum, the collective buzz of bees as they dart between blossoms doing their magic, pollination. Trees sway as the wind strengthens like a waking wolf. Suddenly the sky is full of spiralling snow. We see through the illusion; the white blanket cast on the floor is a carpet of petals.
The premier spot to experience the season is the Cherry Walk from the Mediterranean Garden to the Temperate House. Most of the trees were in full flower at the time of our visit, with Japanese and Chinese visitors standing under the best trees for the obligatory Instagram and TikTok photoshoots. Walking beyond the Temperate House we notice that the cherry trees in the next section, Asano Avenue, were still tight in bud, so this is where I would suggest visitors should head for this weekend. Here the lawns beneath the soft-pink cherry trees are planted with a constellation of naturalised tulips, creating its own magical composition.
Cherry blossom season hasn’t finished. You still have time to get out and appreciate the fragile cherry flowers in our parks and gardens. And if you’re looking to bring a touch of cherry blossom magic to your own garden, consider planting an ornamental cherry tree, especially dwarf varieties that offer multi-season interest.
Further reading:
Cherry Blossom at Kew Gardens:
https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/sounds-of-blossom
What is an Omega blocking pattern?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/cly507egz2zo#
The Englishman who saved Japan’s blossoms:
