No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. ~Hal Borland
This past winter was a long and difficult one for us in Toronto. We were all looking forward to Spring and it seemed too long in coming. But the good new is that it’s finally arrived. High Park was filled with people yesterday enjoying the “bloomin’ trees.” The cherry blossoms have started to blossom but the blooms are very young. They aren’t in bloom for a long time though so if you’re planning to go, try to get over there within the next few days. I spent a lovely afternoon in the park enjoying a glorious spring day. All the photo collages are images that I took there yesterday and without further ado, here they are!
Issa was a Japanese poet and lay Buddhist priest. I’m sure many of us shared his sentiments as we enjoyed the beauty of the cherry blossoms yesterday. Two thousand cherry blossom trees were given to Toronto by Japan.
I took the picture of this plaque yesterday. It’s very good to know how we happen to have these trees in Toronto – an important part of our relationship history with Japan.
“In the cherry blossom’s shade
there’s no such thing
as a stranger.”
― Kobayashi Issa
Hanami is the Japanese custom of bringing along some picnic food at cherry blossom time and sitting under the trees. Many people in Toronto do this. This is from a site with Japan Travel Information “Said to have begun in the late 8th century, the flower viewing tradition is widely believed to have started in the Nara Period. The seasonal event was used to welcome in the new year’s harvest while marking the beginning of the rice planting season. In the Heian Period , Emperor Saga would welcome this time with celebratory feasts and parties under the sakura trees in Kyoto’s Imperial Court. While originally limited to Japanese royalty and the elite upper class, hanami spread to all citizens by the Edo Period in the early 1600’s. The custom still lives to this day as visitors from around the globe partake in this traditional event. Since then, the annual custom has drawn visitors to witness the beautiful seasonal changes while pinpointing and celebrating the beginning of the fiscal and scholastic year with friends and family. A typical hanami usually consists of holding an outdoor party under cherry blossom trees during the day or night. Food, beer and sake are brought to a picnic as visitors bask in the cherry blossoms that fall from the tree. These parties last well into the night as the moon illuminates the pink blossoms.”
In Toronto, people do not read signs.
The last few collages show some other blooms in High Park right now.
Forsythia is pure joy. There is not an ounce, not a glimmer of sadness or even knowledge in forsythia. Pure, undiluted, untouched joy. (Anne Morrow Lindbergh)
The flower is associated with nobility, perseverance, dignity and a love of nature. Magnolias are often used in floral arrangements such as wedding bouquets to represent the purity and dignity of the bride. They are popular in Southern-style weddings because the flower is often identified with the South.
