Cherry blossom trees and garden supplies

Gardening is a good way for people to connect physically with nature. Some claim that holding soil and working with plants can be a spiritual experience, while others simply do it for exercise and the chance to get outdoors. Whatever’s the case, nationalcherryblossom.com is an info site meant to help you in your gardening needs. We do not sell products and we do not claim loyalty to any brand, so the information we present is unbiased.

Beginning a garden does not require expensive equipment or fancy know-how, but it does demand persistence, hard work and determination. Every amateur gardener should decide what kind of garden they want to plant before doing anything else. There are many different styles of gardens: rock, vegetable, shade, bulb, seasonal and the Eastern-inspired tea garden.

Rock gardens are unique in that they don’t require much water, making them the ideal for desert or alpine climates. By arranging rocks in aesthetically-pleasing patterns and formations, owners can bring more attention to the few plants that do reside in the garden. Tea gardens are another popular, non-conventional option. Originating in Japan, they live up to their name by providing a scenic landscape which people can enjoy while drinking tea. By emphasizing statues and other decorations, tea gardens evoke an outdoor-living atmosphere where people enjoy indoor-décor and nature’s majestic beauty simultaneously.

Speaking of Eastern outdoor-décor, it is hard to find a plant more popular than the Japanese cherry blossom (or the sakura tree). Although it doesn’t actually provide cherries, the tree is known for its brief blooming period where light-pink blossoms make it look like a fluffy cloud. The tree is so prominent in Eastern cultures, that it symbolizes it has become Japan’s unofficial tree. Typically, the cherry blossom begins to bloom in April and it only takes one week for a tree to reach full-bloom. After another week, the blossoms will fall to the ground. Because the blooming period is so short, viewing them has become a very popular spectator activity called hanami, which is the same as leaf-viewing in autumn. Many schools and fiscals years begin by coinciding with the sakura’s blooming period.

In the early 20th century, Japan gave over 3,000 cherry blossom trees to the USA as a sign of the two countries’ then-budding friendship, which were planted in Sakura Park in Manhattan and Tidal Basin in Washington D.C., both of which have become popular tourist attractions (and cause for the National Cherry Blossom Festival). Other cities that have benefited from the sakura tree include: San Diego (Balboa Park), Philadelphia, and Brooklyn.

Although the common species of sakura possesses five petals, there are numerous variations on the Japanese cherry blossom. For example there are some that can reach up to 100 – these are called yaezakura.

 

 

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