NYC’s cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom

While it may not feel much like spring, the first signs of the season have come to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The first cherry blossoms of the season have been spotted on the garden’s Prunus-sargentii ‘Fudan-zakura’ and Prunus ‘Jugatsu-zakura’ trees, located in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and along the Cherry Walk. The trees are among the earliest blooming within BBG’s impressive collection.

The first bloom means cherry blossom season has kicked off at the garden--a time also known as hanami, or the Japanese cultural tradition of savoring every moment of the season. The BBG’s Hanami celebration will unfold over the next several weeks as more than 200 cherry trees begin to flower and scatter their petals across the Cherry Esplanade, Cherry Walk and the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. The collection of trees--the most diverse of anywhere in the country--consists of more than 20 cultivars.

There will be a number of related programs offered by the garden this April and May, with its annual Sakura Matsuri festival, tours, classes and after hours.

You can also track the blooms on on BBG’s CherryWatch page, which is updated daily. The map provides “up-to-the-petal” blooming status for each tree in the main collection, as well as detailed information about each cultivar.

The New York Botanic Garden has a similar Cherry Tracker, though the blooms haven’t yet appeared in the Bronx—stay tuned.

• All Brooklyn Botanic Garden coverage [Curbed]