The Sarah P. Duke Gardens’ canopy of Yoshino cherry blossoms — a favorite among students, locals and visitors — began blooming last week.
With 155,000 visitors last March alone, thousands come annually to see the iconic cherry trees during the blooming season, which produce luscious, pink-white blossoms before gently drifting to the ground. Gardens staff anticipate “full bloom” by this weekend, according to a Tuesday update on the cherry blossoms webpage.
“When they start blooming, you’ll be enveloped by cherry blossoms everywhere,” said Lauren Smith Hong, Duke Gardens marketing and communications director. “When they fall, it’s like snowfall coming down. It’s a really beautiful experience.”
This year, however, renovations are limiting access to the Cherry Allée, the iconic pathway lined with cherry trees.
Duke Gardens is in the midst of construction of the Garden Gateway project, which reimagines the gardens' welcome center with a new café and outdoor plaza. Since the renovations have made the allée a dead-end, access to the pathway is restricted from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends in March in anticipation of the large crowds.
On weekends, visitors can view the cherry trees from a vantage point near the Mary Duke Biddle Rose Garden.
Smith Hong encouraged community members to take advantage of the gardens Monday through Friday, when the allée is accessible, and for visitors to explore cherry blossoms in other areas of the gardens, along with different blooming trees, including apricots and magnolias.
To observe the cherry blossoms in real time, Duke Gardens offers a livestream of the allée on its webpage. The gardens also launched the Cherry Check-in Challenge, where participants can take photos with select cherry trees for a chance to win a family-level gardens membership and a goodie bag.
Smith Hong emphasized that the timing of peak bloom is weather-dependent. She explained that after the trees bloom, they will stay preserved for longer if the weather veers cold, and the flowers may fall if it rains. However, she said the trees are accustomed to fluctuating conditions.
“The weather in North Carolina is never straightforward,” Smith Hong said. “The trees are used to the peaks — the highs being 70 [degrees] one day and the lows being 20 [degrees] the next day.”
The trees typically stay in full bloom for seven to 10 days before they shed their flowers.
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Bhavika Verma is a Trinity first-year and a staff reporter for the news department.