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My garden and Cherry blossom trees

Written by: OG Jappleng

This is the first fall where I can happily say that I have a house and lot, and there's a lot of work that has to be put into fixing the house and making the property shine. With about 5 acres of land, there's a lot to consider but it's very bare. There are two things that I'm working on and that's a Garden and planting trees.

Cherry Blossom Trees
I love cherry blossom trees, they are really pretty but there are also a lot of different varieties. I can only name 5 varieties by looking at the tree but I'm only new to this.  The ones that I'm familiar could survive a winter freeze. Here's an image containing 13 different kinds of Cherry blossoms, see if you can identify any.



You can see larger version of these trees by visiting my Nature of Japan Gallery.

You can't eat that, silly!
Cherry blossom trees don't create cherries, at least most don't. I'm pretty sure you can make tea with the cherry blossom leaves but I haven't gotten to that point in knowing which tree flower is edible. If you want cherry trees, you'll have to buy actually cherry trees which we already did.

Our Choice in the Cherry Blossom Tree
What we want to grow here is likely going to be a Yoshino or a Kanzakura. Both are very pretty during bloom but finding a well-grown one within budget is difficult.  For the time being, we need to focus on planting what we already bought because we already have a lot of holes to dig. Perhaps next month we will be able to purchase a cherry blossom tree! You would like to know about cost? They usually cost around $80 - $300 USD each. This doesn't include the top-soil and mulch that you will need, you will also need equipment to dig and to plant, and you will need to water it a lot every day for the first year.

Want a cherry blossom tree of your own? - Wait!
If you want your own cherry blossom tree, wait until Fall. It's best to plant trees in fall because usually that's when it rains the most.  It doesn't hurt to get one early however. Just be sure to look up proper care of your desired tree since each kind varies on how to maintain it.

Want to learn about the Japanese cherry blossom festival?
There's a nifty editorial on Jappleng that talks all about it! It's a fun festival that occurs at different times of the blooming month(s) which are usually around March/April. Read about it here