What to Know
- Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge
- The Akebono and Beni Hoshi trees are full bloom as of April 5, 2021; they'll stay in peak form for about a week or so
- Advance reservations are necessary
It's the snapshot that cherry-cheerful, blossom-obsessed Southern Californians wait for all spring: The picture of the beautiful bridge inside the Japanese Garden at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge.
The elegant marvel of engineering is an eye-pleasing centerpiece to the photograph, of course, and any local bridge buff holds a special place in their hearts for this small and spectacular span.
But pause and look to the fruit trees surrounding it, specifically the trees adorned in thousands of cherry blossoms, and ponder, for a moment, if you're actually looking upon a painting or a camera-produced picture.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
It can be a brief head-scratcher, for when the Descanso Gardens team shares this locally beloved snapshot, which they do each and every spring, it can be a momentary head-scratcher as to whether you're seeing a watercolor instead of a snapshot.
The 2021 snapshot, and it is indeed a photograph, was released on Monday, April 5, signaling this: The Descanso Gardens cherry blossoms are in peak form.
You can view the ethereal icons in their frilly majesty "(a)ny time this week," starting on the 5th, but take note: Advance reservations are required.
The historic gardens shared some background on two of its famous fruit trees: "The 'Akebono' cherry tree produces an abundance of pink flowers in spring, creating soft clouds of color. The flowers gradually fade to white as they open fully, adding depth and dimension to the canopy of blooms."
"The 'Beni Hoshi' is a crowd pleaser, producing vivid pink flowers with long petals that hang below the branches," continued the Descanso Gardens statement. "The two tend to bloom in tandem, and when they do, the Japanese Garden is seemingly aglow in pink."
The spacious property is full of other big bloomers right now, including wisteria, but the cherry blossoms do understandably make rather a major splash come early April.
And that time is now most definitely nigh: Find out more at the Descanso Gardens site and social pages and plan your visit faster than a blossom can drift, drift, drift to the earth below the branch where it was born.
