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| Korakuen Garden, Okayama, Japan, April 2010 |
In Japan people go out to view cherry blossoms every spring and sit under its glory to meet and share a picnic with friends.
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| Vancouver, Canada, April 2009 |
I never quite understood just how incredible an experience it is to view cherry blossoms blooming in profusion until we were in Vancouver, Canada in 2009.
That was a surprise! We didn't realize there would be so many cherry trees blooming in Canada!
As we walked under the trees, the petals started falling around us and mom was ecstatic. She said she'd read about hanfubuki (flower blizzard) in poetry, but had never actually experienced it. She said she could now die in peace because she had seen everything. We persuaded her that there was still a lot more to enjoy so she should really stick around.
This weekend, mom said she'd heard cherry blossoms were in bloom in Wahiawa. Wahiawa on Oahu and Waimea on the Big Island are supposed to be the coldest places in Hawaii. I'm not counting the top of Mauna Kea (Big Island volcano). Cherry trees need the cold to bloom.
We told mom we should go out and see it. She said she'd already seen it once a long time ago and felt she'd already experienced the real thing in Canada and Japan and preferred keeping those memories.
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| Wahiawa 2012 |
I checked online to see where the cherry trees were supposed to be blooming in Wahiawa and then we were on the hunt.
First we went to Leilehua High School, but nobody we asked knew where the trees were and nobody saw them blooming.
We went to the Hongwanji Buddhist temple and saw a few trees with only a handful of flowers.
Then we went to the Ryusenji Soto Mission temple and found these trees on the side of the property. Ummmm......
Yes, there were some flowers on the branches.
The blossoms were lovely close-up.
We have such a profusion of flowers in Hawaii. Shower trees bloom for several months. African tulips trees appear to be blooming all year. Bougainvilleas spread huge swaths of eye catching color in every part of the islands Then there are the ubiquitous hibiscus.
So why the fascination with cherry blossoms, no matter how sparse?
Mom says it's their brevity. They have such a short time to reach their moment of glory and then they die all at once. She says that's why the samurai took it as their symbol representing their often brief life and dying at the height of their power.
I don't know. I wish they'd chosen to plant some other flowering trees all over the place in Wahiawa that would produce a better show for a longer period of time so we could see it more easily.
Don't ask Art though. He'll tell you they should plant mango trees instead.
When I lived in Sacramento, I remember the cherry trees in the center of town near where I worked. I would walk through the "flower blizzard" in amazement in the springtime. I haven't thought of that memory in a long time, Kay. Thanks for bringing it back. :-)
ReplyDeleteI have never seen cherry blossom trees in full bloom, though I saw the trees in Washington, DC. It must be awesome when they fall to the ground. Your photos are so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI live in Charlotte, NC and we have quite a few cherry trees that bloom here too in the Spring. It is absolutely beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteThe cherry trees in Japan look old and stately (twisted trunks). Maybe the tree was groomed like a bonsai? And I think your mom is wise not to see a Hawaii version...that would only damper her treasured memories. But you are such a good daughter and I see where KC got her selfless desire to make others happy from...
ReplyDeleteL. from W.
I well remember the cherry trees being in bloom when I visited Japan several years ago. It was like walking in a blizzard only instead of snow it was cherry blossoms. Wonderful experience.
ReplyDeleteBetter mangos in your mouth than cherry blossoms in your eyes. Art is right. :)
ReplyDeletehow fun looking for spring blossoms so early in Hawaii. Ours are yet to come...
ReplyDeleteOkay everyone, we need to send Dina some clear glasses so she can handle a cherry blossom blizzard. Then after the blizzard, she can look for a mango.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know those trees needed the cold. So now it makes sense that Japan sent those trees to Washington, DC.
Must put such a blizzard on my bucket list. Put some more things in Mom's bucket. DrumMajor
Simply lovely. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteIt seems so early for cherry trees to bloom, but you have a climate with many flowers year round. We won't see cherry blooms until April on the east coast. I look forward to the springtime and blooming trees. Your mom is right, flowers make people happy.
ReplyDeletethis post could've been called 'in search of the cherry blossoms'! It sounds a wonderful experience!
ReplyDeleteha thats funny!!!
ReplyDeleteI think its a lovely practise, cherry blossom viewing, I personally love the fact that they are a brief beautiful sight, it makes it all the more special.Living in Canada's North we know the fleeting briefness of the seasons, although right now I'm up to my ears in snow and ready for cherry blossoms.
We have some of the most beautiful cherry trees in the world here in the DC area. They are mostly a gift to the people of the US from Japan. I have to see them when they bloom in spring. A real fairy land. Dianne
ReplyDeleteSomeday I really hope to see that. It looks so beautiful in pictures, in person it must be magical.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in BC's Okanagan Valley, a huge fruit-growing area, so we were pretty blasé about blossoms: cherries and apples and peaches and pears and apricots. But since I moved to the prairie ten years ago, I get very excited about the blossoms on my Nanking Cherry bushes and my ornamental crabapple tree.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos, Kay, especially the Vancouver one. LOL
Cherry trees are lovely here, and there is a progression of blooms depending on the species of tree. We experience flower showers.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there in Hawaii they should plant trees that are happy, and can bloom profusely.
How wonderful, can't wait for our cherry blossoms to start blooming.
ReplyDeleteI have seen the Cherry blossums in D.C. many times, but would love to see them in Japan. That has got to be spectacular. Although,D.C.'s are pretty awesome. thanks for sharing your photos. They are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteHi Kay, googled Wahiawa Cherry Blossoms as suggested by a friend who had photographed this year's blooms and facebooked them. In that search saw the 2005 article that told of the man who brought the seedlings (?) to Wahiawa from Okinawa. Mr. Nakasone was a neighbor that lived up the street in Waipio Acres & I remember vividly visiting his garden & fish pond as a little girl (late 50's, early 60's).
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking mom to see them last year and sharing the what and whys of the sakura. Hoping I can get to see them tomorrow & I'll be sure to bring my camera.
Congratulations on your blog. I'm retired too & planning to begin one tomorrow.
chiyo of Waipio
Hello Chiyo,
DeleteIt's so very nice to meet you. I was just in Wahiawa today to pick up tofu at Honda Tofu! Doggone it! I wish we'd gone to check out the cherry blossoms. Do let me know if I should make a special trip to see them. I'd really appreciate it because last year was pretty negligible. We're rather spoiled because we were in Japan this past spring and saw awesome cherry blossoms everywhere.