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April 23, 2005
Kwanzan Cherries
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Snobbism is as rampant in the gardening world as anywhere else, and the Kwanzan Cherry which has burst into pink powderpuff blooms all over the city this week is the object of a certain amount of derision among gardening sophisticates. Complaints are many; it's showy (yes) stiff (yes) over-used (yes), and its intense pink fluffiness does make it look like Barbie's favorite tree. But, as the late, great Henry Mitchell once said, you can miss a lot by being snobbish, and a Kwanzan in full bloom is an awesome, if very pink, sight. This week they are everywhere.
The most compelling displays are at the United Nations and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. At the UN, the lower lawn is edged by 200 Kwanzans underplanted with 25,000 narcissus. The cherries were given to the UN by philanthropist Dorothy Lasker in 1954. The combination is a sight not to be missed, and the only time this rather stiff garden is really worth a trip.
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Over in Brooklyn, 70 Kwanzans in two double rows border the main esplanade at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Home to the largest collection of Japanese cherries outside Japan (42 species and varieties), BBG takes its cherries very seriously. One of the Garden's most anticipated annual events is the Sakura Matsuri Festival or Japanese Cherry Festival, which takes place this year on April 29th and 30th. As we said, cherries are serious business at BBG and its excellent web site boasts a Cherry Watch Blossom Status Map. Each cherry is charted, and the map indicates whether it is pre-peak, peak or post-peak. The map is updated regularly during the season, and an interactive feature allows you to click on each tree symbol and discover the name of that particular cultivar. At this moment, 4/23, the Kwanzans are at first bloom and the weeping cherries are at peak...Get going!
Posted by gardenguidenyc at April 23, 2005 04:21 PM