The first cherry blossoms are blooming at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

By Brooklyn Magazine Staff

Here’s a sign that spring has just dropped: Brooklyn Botanic Garden is saying that its first cherry blossoms have started blooming.

The arrival of the garden cherries, officially named Prunus x incam ‘Okame,’ marks the official start of cherry blossom viewing season that typically happens around the beginning of spring. They are just “starting to pop from deep carmine-rose buds to soft pink petals,” according to the BBG. The tree is usually among the first to flower in the season, marking the start of hanami, the Japanese tradition of enjoying the transient beauty of these blooms. (Fun tip: Google “hanami” to see what happens.)

The first cherry blossoms of spring have been spotted on BBG’s Prunus x incam ‘Okame’, marking the start of #hanami, or cherry blossom viewing season. Track the #BBGCherries blooms on CherryWatch at https://t.co/tbxYN3UBlu. pic.twitter.com/WPYTHtBQfp

— Brooklyn Botanic Garden (@BrooklynBotanic) March 21, 2022

Visitors can see flowering trees in the Cherry Cultivars Area, located near the Cherry Esplanade that’s behind the main entrance on Washington Ave. The BBG has more than 200 cherry trees and several different varieties around its 52-acre campus, making its collection is “one of the most diverse of its kind in a U.S. botanic garden.”

BBG has created a nifty map, called CherryWatch, tracking the blooming on a daily basis. The apex of spring is celebrated with its annual program called “Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Bloom.” This year, the event is happening between April 15 and May 15, when the garden extends its visiting hours and is the perfect spring spruce up for your Instagram.