Witness the springtime bloom at the La Cañada Flintridge garden during a pair of mid-March tours (Mar 15, 16 11am–noon). As for those beautiful pink-flowering trees, you’ll want to head to the Japanese garden in March. Make sure to check the garden’s bloom status (or Descanso’s Instagram) before you make your plans; the Okame cherry trees have already passed their peak as of the end of March, though the Pink Cloud blossoms are flowering; the Akebono and Beni Hoshi blossoms (the delicate ones by the Japanese garden’s creek) should follow soon.
Well before the jacaranda trees bloom and just as the California poppies begin to flower, Los Angeles also greets the springtime with cherry blossom season.
If you’re after blossoming buds, you’ll largely want to head to a botanical garden or Japanese garden between March and April, though sometimes slightly earlier (other pink trees like peach blossoms can pop off as early as February). As of the end of March, you should be able to find cherry blossoms at a handful of botanical gardens, though likely not for much longer.
You’ll also find some cherry blossom festivals, where a handful of Southern California cities salute their Japanese roots. Oddly enough, while some of these fests take place in parks and along city streets adorned with those delicate pink flowers, some don’t actually feature any cherry trees.
Peak blooms are pretty short-lived, so we suggest checking each spot (Instagram tends to be particularly useful) for up-to-the-minute photos before you trek on over.
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