Each spring, Descanso Gardens explodes in blossoms of all varieties. Highly anticipated and enormously popular, the two main ornamental cherry tree varieties, ‘Akebono’ and ‘Beni Hoshi’, are now in peak bloom this week.
Eager for any excuse to visit one of our favorite gardens, we strolled through the landscaped gardens Monday, and it isn’t just cherry trees. Everywhere we looked, flowers exploded in a rainbow of colors and shades, from purple lilacs to brilliant tulips in yellows and reds.
But if it’s the cherry trees you hear calling you, they’re here in abundance. The ‘Akebono’ cherry tree produces 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 blooms.
The ‘Beni Hoshi’ produces vivid pink flowers with long petals that hang below the branches. The two tend to bloom in tandem, and when they do, the Japanese Garden is seemingly aglow in pink. The blooms don’t last long, adding to their ephemeral nature and beauty.
And for those who love lilacs, they are blooming profusely in Descanso’s lilac garden. Known for their intoxicating scent, the lilacs are breathtaking in shades of purple and white.
Descanso Gardens is at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge. descansogardens.or
