Cherry blossoms are blooming across Hamilton. Go see them before they're gone - Action News
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Cherry blossoms are blooming across Hamilton. Go see them before they're gone

Pink, white and impossiblydelicate, cherry blossoms have eruptedacross Hamilton but they won't be here for long.

'It's beautiful and then it's gone,' says Patricia Simpson, adding the flowers are a metaphor for life

A man and a child with the cherry blossom trees in Gage Park.
Zoey, 8, smells a flower as her father, Long, lifts her up. The Dam family was among many who flocked to Bayfront Park in Hamilton on Sunday to enjoy the cherry blossoms. (Dan Taekema/CBC)

Pink, white and impossiblydelicate, cherry blossoms have eruptedacross Hamilton but they won't be here for long.

A sure sign of spring, theornamental flowersalways draw crowds of admirers and selfie-seekers hoping to capture a bit of their fleeting beauty.

Right now they're at peak bloom.

"The flowers are very short-lived. It's beautiful and then it's gone," explained PatriciaSimpson, president of the Hamilton chapter of the National Association for Japanese Canadians.

The symbol of Japan offers a lesson as well as beauty, she added.

"You have to seize the moment because if you don't, tomorrow they're gone," Simpson said. "It's a metaphor for life."

A beautiful gift

Families flocked to the flowers Sunday, posing for photos and gently pulling down branches to smell their fragrance.

Angeline Chua was there with three generations of her family, from her daughter Zoey to her parents-in-law.

Many of the cherry trees in Hamilton were a gift from Japan through something called the Sakura Project, which ended in 2012. (Dan Taekema/CBC)

They were drawn to the blossoms at Bayfront Park after beingcooped up during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

"We have a beautiful stretch to take some pictures," said Chua, motioning at the blossom-heavy branches behind her.

The trees were a gift from Japan, she added."This is wonderful to share peace between countries."

Many of the cherry trees that bring so much colour and joy to Ontario were donated bythrough something called the Sakura Project.

It saw 3,082 trees planted at 58 locations from schools and research sites to public parks and care facilities across the province before it ended in September 2012.

Baby Ava Cekan stares curiously at cherry blossoms while her grandmother, Zlata holds her. Her mother Jessica and father Robert were at Bayfront Park to capture some photos. (Dan Taekema/CBC)

Launched by the Consulate-General of Japan in Toronto, the goal of the project was to promote understanding between Japan and Canada.

"The Japanese hold tremendous affection for Sakura, its beauty being a source of a great deal of national pride," read a statement shared when it came to a close.

A "beloved sign of spring," the Japanese tradition of holding Sakura viewing while enjoying a picnic, has since caught on in Ontario too, it added.

Sunlight peaks through the cherry blossoms at Bayfront Park. (Dan Taekema/CBC)

Alex Henderson saidhismom likes to tell an "embarrassing" story about parking his pram (stroller) under a cherry tree.

"Apparently one of the first words I learned to say as a kid was 'blossom,'" said the curator of living collections at the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG).

"I guess I must have gotten into the right job," hejoked.

Cherry blossomscan be found in at the RBG'sArboretum, Rock and Laking gardensas well as Gage Park and Centennial Park in Dundas and other sites scattered across the area.

The twin rows of flowering trees at Bayfront Park are marking the20th anniversary since city councillor voted to accept them as a gift in 2002.

After they bloom, the blossoms only last five to 10 days, Henderson said.

Food for pollinators and a sign of spring

As one of the earliest trees to flower, they play an important role for insects and other pollinators too.

"If you lie down under the trees all you can hear is buzzing and clouds of bees doing all the pollinating," said Henderson.

The flowershave an impact on people too.

"I just think it's the first harbinger of summer after we've gone through such long winters here," the curator added.

Cherry blossoms only last five to 10 days, according to Alex Henderson, curator of living collections at the Royal Botanical Garden. (Dan Taekema/CBC)

The RBG is home totwo "sister collections" of cherry trees, with probably 15 different species between them, according to Henderson.

The older sisters were planted in the 1960s and 70s, while the younger siblings were added around 2010 as part of the Sakura project.

"Cherry trees, in tree terms, are very short-lived," explained Henderson. "They only have roughly the lifespan of a human being."

They may only be around for a short while, but the curatorpointed out that evenwhen the petals fall they leave behind a colourful blanked that covers the ground.

"It's one of nature's spectacular things," he said. "It's just incredibly beautiful."

A kite soars past branches heavy with cherry blossoms at Hamilton's Bayfront Park on May 8, 2022. (Dan Taekema/CBC)