Hat Le enjoys High Park's cherry blossoms, which are considered in peak bloom when 70 per cent or more of the buds are open. She and her friend plan on visiting the blossoms in Trinity Bellwoods Park next.
It’s peak cherry blossom season in Toronto, as tens of thousands of people flock to parks across the city to take part in the centuries-old Japanese tradition of flower viewing, known as hanami.
The blooms are fleeting: they’ll last anywhere from four to 10 days depending on the weather. Calm and cool weather can slow down the progression of the flowers and keep them hanging onto the branches longer. Frost, heavy wind and rains or warmer temperatures will cause the petals to fall sooner.
The most popular spot is High Park, a 160-hectare park on the city’s west side that is closed to vehicle traffic during the bloom.
The first of High Park’s sakura trees were planted in 1959, after Japanese Canadian community leaders fundraised $20,000 with the vision of building a Japanese garden in a public park in Toronto.
They met their goal and in April of that year, Toru Hagiwara, then the Japanese ambassador to Canada, presented 2,000 Somei Yoshino sakura trees to Toronto citizens on behalf of Tokyo citizens.
The variety is the most common flowering tree in Japan, despite its inability to be grown from seed or found in the wild. Each tree that made its way to Toronto was manually propagated by attaching cuttings from one tree to the rootstock of another.
Since that first year, more trees have been planted in High Park and across the city: In Birkdale Ravine, Cedar Ridge Park, Edwards Gardens, at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Trinity Bellwoods Park and Woodbine Park, among others.
Like the recent eclipse, sometimes the appeal of nature’s splendour is experiencing awe in a crowd. But for people hoping to take in the display in a quieter atmosphere – and not be in the background of an Instagram story – Rohith Rao of the High Park Nature Centre recommends the early morning. There is plenty of bird song in the air, as many migrating birds are flying into Toronto at this time, including the “wik-a-wik-wik-a-wik-a” of his favourite, the Northern Flicker.
And while the cherry blossoms demand your attention skyward, Mr. Rao encourages visitors to remember to look down. Tiny midland painted turtle hatchlings emerge alongside the cherry blossom blooms. About the size of a quarter, they are making their journey to water.
Peak blooms usually run four to 10 days; the cooler and calmer the weather, the longer it is likely to last.
Caora McKenna