First Blooms in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden

By Rebecca Bullene on April 13, 2011 Previous | Next

• Tori with the first blossoms of Prunus 'Pendula' in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo by Rebecca Bullene.
• Hanami in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo by Rebecca Bullene
• Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula'. Photo by Rebecca Bullene.
• Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula'. Photo by Rebecca Bullene.
• Hanami 2008. Photo by Dave Allen
• Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden during Hanami 2008. Photo by Dave Allen

Of the 26 flowering cherry trees on display in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, 15 began to bloom this week and are holding their blossoms despite the rain. The majority of these trees are Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula', often called weeping cherries. In BBG's collection there are both white and pink varieties. Weeping cherries have been cultivated in Japan for centuries and are often referred to as ito-zakura ("thread cherry") in poems and literature. The thin branches weep because of their fast growing habit and do indeed look like threads blowing in the breeze before the blossoms emerge. The species was first introduced into Europe in 1862 by German physician and botanical collector Philipp Franz von Siebold. In addition to P. subhirtella 'Pendula' visitors to the Garden can also see Prunus sargentii 'Fudan-zakura' in peak bloom.

To see the stages of bloom of all the flowering cherry trees at BBG visit the CherryWatch map and follow us on Twitter for the latest bloom updates.

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