Sakura Watch, April 26, 2014 - Sign of buds developing show we are only a couple weeks away

Sakura Watch, April 26, 2014 - Sign of buds developing show we are only a couple weeks away from bloom now. Examining the Sakura // Cherry Blossom trees throughout the park this weekend shows each area are showing growth and development and slightly different rates. Here is a report on the main three areas around the park:

Sakura near the Playground and High Park Zoo

The small collection of trees located between the playground and the High Park Zoo are usually a few days behind in the others in the park in bloom, and this year is no exception. We are seeing some green buds developing on the larger mature trees, though still lots of closed buds can still be seen on the trees here. Sadly, the smaller group of trees near the road seem to no be doing well with only a few actually showing any bud development. The sakura trees in this area are seen in photos 1, 2, and 3.

Sakura along Grenadier Pond and Hillside Gardens

The largest grouping of trees in High Park, which also are the true show-stopper when in their beauty for visitors are all on track to be developing into blooms in the next couple weeks in mid-May. Many of these cherry blossom trees are now showing many more greening buds versus the still closed ones which bode well for the blooms to develop. If you look close at some of them, you can see the deep pink colours beginning to evolve into what will so be the first beautiful petal blooms for this spring. With only weeks away now, let's have a look at a few branches in photos 4, 5, 6.

Sakura near the sports fields

The Sakura // Cherry Blossom trees that line the sportsfields are usually the earliest to bloom in High Park by about a day or two earlier than the others. Most of the branches are filled with larger, round green buds with a good number showing deep pink tips. These trees are the ones to watch in the park as when they begin to bloom then you know the rest of the park will start to bloom soon after. Here are a few shots from this area of the park in photos 7,8, 9.

More updates to follow later this week - stay tuned!