High Park cherry trees in full bloom
Posted May 3, 2013 3:41 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Count on picnickers, tour groups and hordes of amateur shutterbugs in High Park this weekend among its grove of cherry trees, now in full bloom.
The city’s first stretch of warm weather lines up perfectly with Sakura Hanami — Toronto’s version of the centuries-old Japanese tradition loosely translated as “cherry blossom flower viewing.”
Half of the buds were fully open on Thursday and the High Park Nature Centre predicted peak bloom would happen on Friday or Saturday.
“If you have not been there to see them it is an absolutely magical time of year to be in High Park,” said CityNews meteorologist Adam Stiles.
The centre says the best place to see the blossoms right now is on the hills overlooking Grenadier Pond. The ones in the cooler Spring Creek valley near the Jamie Bell Adventure Playground and the zoo parking lot are a few days behind.
Volunteers will lead tours every 45 minutes on Saturday from 1 p.m.- 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. They’ll be dressed in pink on the hill south of the Grenadier Café.
Click here for a map of the cherry trees.
The blooms last only about a week, and in Japan their beautiful yet fleeting nature is seen as a metaphor for life.
For more information, visit the High Park Nature Centre website.
