Life Is but a Flower.
Spring is a soothing, yet frenetic time of year for Brooklynites. People are rushing like chickens without heads to finish their taxes. However, we can walk outside for the first time in months without constricting, puffy coats, and feel the sun on our skin. This loosens and lightens almost anyone’s mood. The Cherry Blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden will elevate your spirits further and make you realize that life is but a flower.
Spring is additionally a hectic time for plants.
Spring is additionally a hectic time for plants. All winter long they’ve been cooped up waiting for the return of the sun. Little buds timidly start to pop out of the soil in March before the winter is finished, sensing that there is more light. Spring equinox is the trumpet urging plants to charge! It is off to the races! Plants now grow with a ferocious frenzy. Their colors and, whatever personality a plant has, fill the air with an undeniable charge. Spring is a time of great pomp and vain display. But many forget amidst our busy, hectic lives that spring is also a time for quiet and reflection.
The plants know that life is but a flower, and this is the Cherry Blossoms’ hour to shine.
The plants know that life is but a flower, and this is the Cherry Blossoms’ hour to shine. Any other time of year Cherry Blossoms, or Sakura in Japanese, look like any other tree. Come springtime, however, they burst into dreamy pastel pink and white puff balls. When grouped together they look like a cotton candy forest, something out of a fairy tale. Cherry Blossoms can never see and understand what they are, but they are an eternal spring of inspiration and wonder for us.
There was a deeper significance to Cherry Blossom season in the distant past.
There was a deeper significance to Cherry Blossom season in the distant past. Before farming techniques became modernized and more precise Cherry Blossom blooms were used to predict the year’s harvest. Though Sakura blooms are less of a necessity for farmers today, they remain a powerful symbol of transience, hope, and regeneration. These are revered ideals in Shintoism. This was the indigenous religion of Japan before Buddhism was introduced. It influences Japanese culture to this day.
The whole point of Cherry Blossom season is that life is but a flower.
The whole point of Cherry Blossom season is that life is but a flower. Cherry Blossom season is one of the most venerated times of year in Japan. Featured in numerous pieces of art, poetry, and music, it is one of Japan’s most important symbols. And it is no wonder why.
There is an undeniable mystique to Cherry Blossoms and when you are underneath one you get it.
Holding their peak blooms for approximately a week, Cherry Blossoms remind us that life is but a flower.
Holding their peak blooms for approximately a week, Cherry Blossoms remind us that life is but a flower. Sitting under their puffy, pastel flower bunches in the warm sunshine all is seemingly still. Then someday soon the petals will start gracefully falling, carpeting the ground. Every single moment of a Cherry Blossom, from its birth to its inevitable fall, is a wonder. Their transience is a reminder to observe and relish in their delicate, fleeting beauty. This is the meaning of the Cherry Blossom in Japanese culture.
The height of Sakura season and its festivities is Hanami, which means “flower viewing”.
The height of Sakura season and its festivities is Hanami, which means “flower viewing”. It is a centuries old tradition when people of all ages gather to admire Sakura blossoms at their peak bloom before they disappear. People bring delicious food and drink, and there is music and dancing. The twirling petals are confetti. This is the embodiment of Wabi-sabi. It is a celebration of the briefness of Cherry Blossoms and that life is but a flower.
Cherry Blossoms don’t actually produce cherries.
Cherry Blossoms don’t actually produce cherries. They are solely ornamental. There are many different types of Cherry Blossom trees. The type we see here on the East Coast most frequently are of the Yoshino variety. There are Weeping Cherry Blossoms on the East Coast as well. There are also varieties that bloom in Autumn. Some have yellow or green flowers. One variety can have hundreds of petals on a single flower. Many of the Cherry Blossoms that we see aren’t found in the wild, but were cultivated. They were first cultivated in Japan over 1,000 years ago. There are over 200 varieties of Cherry Blossoms in Japan alone. Cherry Blossoms have unsurprisingly spread throughout the world where even more types have been cultivated since.
In 1909 Japan gifted the United States 3,200 Cherry Blossom trees to foster goodwill and friendly relations between us.
In 1909 Japan gifted the United States 3,200 Cherry Blossom trees to foster goodwill and friendly relations between us. Two-thousand Cherry Blossom trees were planted along the Potomac River in Washington D.C. alone. The trees presented to New York were in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Robert Fulton’s invention of the steam-powered boat and the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the Hudson River.
There are Cherry Blossoms all over the place in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
There are Cherry Blossoms all over the place in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. The line to get in was a bit daunting at first, but it moved at a nice pace. You are greeted by a white blossomed one when you first walk in through the Eastern Parkway entrance. This isn’t the amazing part however. When you continue deeper into the garden you encounter a seemingly endless field with two entire rows of pink Cherry Blossoms. People rested under the pink canopies or twirled around in their matching pink skirts. Little ones stared up with wonder. The scene on Sunday, April 16 2023 was a truly joyous occasion.
The ephemeral beauty of Cherry Blossoms is a metaphor for their blooms and life itself.
The ephemeral beauty of Cherry Blossoms is a metaphor for their blooms and life itself. Life is but a flower! Water it, tend to it, and enjoy it while it’s here. Take the time each day to notice what’s around you because things change faster than you realize. Finally, go over to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and get your Wabi-sabi on under a Sakura tree and celebrate the Hanami way!
View the Brooklyn Botanical Garden real-time map of their Cherry Blossom blooms at their website:
Learn more about Cherry Blossoms here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom
Read our previous post A Taste of Katz’s:
https://172-234-236-52.ip.linodeusercontent.com/a-taste-of-katzs/