This is one of my favourite times of year - the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the cherry blossoms are stunning.
In Japan, the entire country celebrates the Hanami Festival from March to early May.
The Cherry blossom is an eternal symbol of renewal and hope and a reminder that life is fragile. Sakura is the Japanese name for the ornamental cherry blossom. Their spectacular beauty is short-lived, often only lasting a few weeks, reminding us that life is precious and should be lived well. Cherry blossoms have inspired poets, artists, Emperors, samurai and the common folk for over a 1000 years. There is a legend that each spring, a fairy maiden hovers low in the warm spring sky and awakens the sleeping cherry trees to life with her delicate breath.
Prunus 鈥楢kebono鈥�&苍产蝉辫;(Yoshino Cherry) Flowering Cherry is a small deciduous tree boasting masses of large shell pink semi-double blossoms with a slightly almond fragrance. The blooms gradually fade to white as they fully open, displaying an outstanding profusion of delicate petals forming an exquisite canopy. The ethereal beauty is breathtaking. As the petals mature ,they fall to the ground like a light snowfall and then, as if by magic, the next wind whisks them away.
The 鈥楢kebono鈥� is a cultivar of the Yoshino Cherry and was brought to North America back in the late 1800s. It grows to 25鈥� tall and wide and thrives in the full sun and moist but well-drained soil. It makes a fabulous specimen tree for your garden and is one of the best and most disease-resistant. Even after the blossoms are over, you are treated to dark glossy green leaves during the summer, which turn yellow with orange highlights in the fall. The bark is very distinctive and the black drupes are an important food source for many small birds, such as robins, cardinals and waxwings.
For the small garden, choose the award-winning Prunus Amanogawa鈥�(20鈥�), which has a narrow columnar form. The large fragrant semi-double flowers are 2鈥� across with each bud unfolding to show case clusters of six to 15 petals. Magnificent! The pink buds fade to white as they open up and cradle a purplish pink heart just before they expire.
Then the leaves emerge a bronze-green colour, turn mid-green in summer, and end with a spectacular display of bright red and orange in fall. (鈥楢manogawa鈥� means 鈥橦eaven鈥檚 River,鈥� which refers to the galaxy seen in the skies in Japan.)
