Cherry Blossom Festival -
Life In the Pink

Cherry blossoms - I'm thinking springtime... Kyoto, Japan...

It's cherry blossom festival -- you and your camera are invited! Fragile petals, all shades of pink, floating like confetti on a gentle breeze.

Check the website of your chosen festival on a regular basis. If you're traveling to another country, you need to be flexible with your time. For all sorts of reasons, the trees can bloom a week earlier or later than you expected.

I've been really disappointed a few times. I couldn't extend my visit and I missed the best action!

So, be forewarned -- you have to be on the ball if you want to photograph a cherry blossom festival. It begins late March or early April in milder climates. You have only a short window of opportunity to photograph the splendor. Once the blossoms peak, they only last a week... if that!

One good rainy or windy day and the cherry blossoms are done. Don't leave your photography for tomorrow. You may just wake up to find the world carpeted in pink and the trees bare naked!

Start your research on cherry blossom festivals right now. Make this spring your most magical photography assignment ever!

Canada

1. Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, Vancouver, BC, Canada

South Korea

1. Yeouido Cherry Blossom and Spring Flowers Festival, Seoul
2. Cherry blossom picture in video, Daegu University Campus, South Korea

Unofficially, the blooms are the national flower of Japan. They have no official flower - but they're as much a symbol of Japan as... well, geishas for instance.

Japanese view them as a model for human mortality - exquisite in their prime but, oh, so fleeting! The delicate cherry blossom (Sakura) is pervasive in Japanese art, music, poetry, ceramics... virtually every aspect of life. It's not difficult to understand why they planted cherry trees in countries they colonized.

On the Japanese 12-month calendar, the “Sakura” is the flower of March. Check the Chinese flower calendar and you'll find the cherry blossom, “Ying Hua”, is the flower of April.

The Chinese believe Ying Hua is emblematic of feminine beauty, peace and a good education.

We can all agree that, universally, this glorious pink tidal wave represents spring.

Not only does Japan celebrate this short-lived tsunami of pink blooms... China, India, Tibet, the Western Philippines, and Korea have had a long love affair with cherry blossom festivals.

In the last few years I've “oohed and awed” my way through several cherry blossom festivals in Korea.

But do you know that Asia doesn't have the monopoly on cherry blossoms any more? Mostly thanks to Japan's generosity. Starting back in the early 1900's she bestowed thousands of cherry trees on numerous North American organizations and cities.

And now we're just as eager as our Asian friends to follow the “sakura zensen” - the cherry blossom front -- as it flows across cities and countries.

In Canada, we have a strong affection for our own pink and white blooms each spring... two of the major viewing cities being Vancouver and Toronto. With the milder Pacific climate on the west coast, Vancouver's Cherry Blossom Festival entertains earlier than those in the colder climate of southern Ontario.

The United States puts on some spectacular spring festivals. If you happen to be in New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, Georgia or L.A. when the buds pop open, make sure you have your camera ready.

Mind you, these are only a few of many locations for enjoying this transient pink cotton candy world.

“Hanami” -- cherry blossom viewing and celebrations under the trees -- is in vogue! Don't be left out - check your local tourist board or search the internet. You'll probably find one close to home.

If you're looking for an excuse to travel further afield, how about a trip to Germany. Hanami is thriving at the Altes Land Orchard region which lies along the Elbe River near Hamburg. This is Germany's - infact, all of Europe's - largest fruit-growing region.

Not only will you find cherry trees in abundance here, but also pear and apple trees. If you have lots of time to spare, arrive in the middle of April for the clouds of cherry blossoms. After they fade, stick around for the apple blossoms. Oh, by the way - pick up some honey while you're there. Mmmm, one sweet treat!

Got more time for travel next spring? Put the United Kingdom on your spring festivals itinerary. Make your way to the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire where you'll find the Batsford Arboretum.

The arboretum itself dates back to the early 17th century...

But in 1886, Algernon Bertrand Freedman-Mitford inherited the land and major transformation began.

This gentleman traveled extensively to China and Japan as an attaché to the foreign legation. He became somewhat of an expert on Japanese culture and was greatly influenced by their gardens. His admiration for Japanese garden design and plants is reflected in Batsford Arboretum today.

As a happy result, you'll find an extensive collection of Sato-Zakura - Japanese cherries.

Definitely on MY list of gardens to see before I die!

• Family: Rosaceae (Rose Family)
• Genus: Prunus
• Species: about 400 flowering plums, cherries and almonds

• Many of these shrubs and trees produce fruit but others are purely ornamental.
• There are both deciduous and ever-green species.
• They adapt well to different soils if there's good drainage.
• The cherry blossoms are either singles with 5 petals or doubles with 10 to 30 petals.
• They're white or various shades of pink.
• Their downfall is their low resistance to viruses, diseases and many insect pests.
• Their strength is their overwhelming beauty which assures their continued popularity.

There are so many varieties of cherries, far too many to list. But you may come across these species in your spring pictures of a cherry blossom festival:

P. maacki (Amur Cherry/Goldbark Cherry)

• origin - Manchuria and Korea
• clusters of small white flowers
• bloom after the leaves open
• can grow to 30 feet in height

P. sargentii (Sargent Cherry)

• origin - Japan and Korea
• single rose pink or white blossoms (2 1/2 - 4 cm across)
• bloom before the leaves open
• can grow 30-50 feet in height

P. serulata (Sato-Zakuta Group - Japanese Flowering Cherry or Oriental Cherry)

• origin - Korea and Japan
• single or double blossoms (10-30 petals 5 cm across)
• blossoms white or various shades of pink
• can grow an impressive 50-75 feet in height

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