Sakura Spring (March 2010)

I’ve recently learned that in Japan it is an important Spring custom to gather and celebrate under the blossoms of Sakura (flowering cherry trees). This social phenomenon of flora viewing dates back centuries and included imperial households, poets, singers and other aristocrats. Now, Memphis is not home to over 200 different varieties of cherry trees like Japan, and we are certainly not aristocracy, however, I can tell you that the process of gathering around these trees has become custom in this family. The Cherry Grove in Chickasaw Gardens was undoubtedly the most beautiful I’ve seen in the nine years of living here. The only negative is that Sakura blooms do not last long enough! We played almost daily under these clouds of white until no more blooms remained.