High Park - Cherry Blossoms

If you feel up for a walk this weekend, you might want to consider heading over to High Park to take part in the Japanese tradition of Sakura Hanami, or viewing the cherry trees in bloom.

High Park has an extensive collection of flowering cherry trees which usually bloom in late April or early May, but which, due to our remarkably warm weather so far this year, are flowering a bit early. The collection of trees, which are not native to the area, began with a donation of 2000 Sakura trees (Japanese flowering cherry), a gift from the citizens of Tokyo back in 1959. They were a gift to the city in appreciation of Toronto accepting re-located Japanese -Canadians following World War II. This planting was followed by others of other varieties in 1984, 2001 and 2006.

Many of the trees were planted in the Hillside Garden and along the east side of Grenadier Pond. I suggest walking down to the Pond from the Grenadier Restaurant - it's spectacular. And very popular. We went on an early Thursday afternoon, and we had lots of company!

For more information about the history of the trees, and about the tradition of Sakura Hanami, visit the High Park website. The staff of the High Park Nature Centre also posts regular updates on the state of the blooms, so you can check how well along they are before you leave home. Keep in mind that the Grenadier Restaurant opens at 7 am, and offers a weekday early bird breakfast special. If you plan to go on the weekend, and like me, enjoy a later start, they also offer an all-day breakfast which is still really reasonable.