Recommended books about cherry blossoms:
Ornamental Cherries in Vancouver, by Douglas Justice
Flowering Cherries, by Geoffrey Chadbund.
Japanese Flowering Cherries, by Wybe Kuitert.
Trees of Vancouver, by Gerald Bane Straley.
Ornamental Cherries, by Ingram Collingwood.
Thank you to Douglas Justice for providing this list of resources during the Blossom Biology workshop at VanDusen Garden.
Come Bike the Blossoms with us this Saturday April 27 2013.
I love this creative stop-motion video “Bike Dance in Blossoms” created by B:C:Clettes during Bike the Blossoms in 2012.
Are you ready to Bike the Blossoms this Saturday April 27?
Join Velopalooza and the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival for a fun, free guided bike ride under the cherry blossoms on Saturday, April 27.
The Blossom Biology workshop took place at the VanDusen Botanical Garden classroom in the evening of April 11, 2013.
Douglas Justice, a technical advisor for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, came in with a bucket full of cherry blossoms that he had collected from the garden!
He started the session with a presentation during which we learnt about:
Then, he laid out the various cultivars of cherry blossoms on the table and we got to see them up close and identify them.
I’ve learnt a lot about cherry trees. Did you know that 80% of cherry trees are grafted? It’s a nursery practice to take a seedling cherry and to graft it to a stomp (from which many branches will grow). This explains the odd appearance of the trunk.
Are you able to identify the different types of cherry blossoms in that bucket?
There are 35 cherries in the book Ornamental Cherries in Vancouver but Douglas Justice says they’ve identified 20 more cultivars since. Aren’t we lucky to have so many cherry trees in Vancouver?
Tip: For more information about cherry tree identification and other things we’ve learnt at the workshop, type “Blossom Biology” in the search box on the left to view other posts on the subject.
Check out this video of the Sakura Illumination Tour uploaded by Stuart Ward from hfour design.
The Sakura Illumination Tour is a mobile night time installation which will illuminate various cherry blossom sites in public parks and beaches while in full bloom. Using LED and patterned video lights, Stuart Ward of Hfour Design illuminated cherry blossom trees with his sensory projection artwork. The single night quality reflects the tempo of the blossoms, and their varying bloom times. The unique experience will create an intangible memory of a time and place never to be duplicated.
The light show will be a reminder that if you don’t stop, if you don’t pull over to see what is happening, you’ll miss it because it won’t be there tomorow. Life is brief and beauty does not last and life can pass you by if you don’t seize the moment.
The Sakura Illumination Tour will follow the peak bloom of our cherry trees and is dependent on the weather. Consult the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival page to learn where Sakura Illumination will pop up next and the VCBF Facebook page for latest updates!
How to get there: Off Cambie at 33rd there’s a parking lot or park on the street then walk up hill as if going to Bloedel Conservatory and we’ll be on your left at the crest of the hill.
After you attend the World Umbrella Dance rehearsal tonight at the Roundhouse (6.45-7.45pm), you should go see the Sakura Illumination Tour at Queen Elizabeth 8.00pm-10.00pm.
How to get there: Off Cambie at 33rd there’s a parking lot or park on the street then walk up hill as if going to Bloedel Conservatory and we’ll be on your left at the crest of the hill.
By public transit: get off at King Edward skytrain station, take the bus #15 and get off at 33rd street ; alternatively, you can get off at Oakridge 41st Avenue skytrain station, take the 15 Downtown and get off at 33rd street. Visit Translink for exact bus schedule and information.
The Sakura Illumination Tour is a mobile night-time installation which will illuminate various cherry blossom sites in public parks and beaches while in full bloom.
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival - Blog 