Witness the springtime bloom at the La Cañada Flintridge garden during a pair of mid-March tours (Mar 22, 23 11am–noon). As for those beautiful pink-flowering trees, you’ll want to head to the Japanese garden. 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 early March, though the Pink Cloud blossoms are flowering for at least this week and next; 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 want to head to a botanical garden or Japanese garden between March and April, though some cherry blossoms began blooming as early as February this year. As of the start of March, cherry blossoms are in bloom at Descanso Gardens and the Huntington, with more to come, and are winding down at South Coast Botanic Garden.
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, others 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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