Cherry Blossoms
Thursday, March 4, 2010
There is something always so refreshing about spring. Cool breezes off the ocean seem revitalizing, and the simple things we pass by each day; the bus stop, the downtown streets and the corner coffee shop, all seem to have a new and interesting life to them.
Vancouver is more beautiful than I've ever seen it before. Along with Van's coastal qualities of beaches and the ocean (which are temptations that are hard to deny), now, in early March, there are flowers blooming on the street, and most importantly, the cherry blossoms are out...decorating the street with a softness that changes the entire city landscape.
There are three colours of cherry blossoms; white, pink and magenta. Not only do the cherry blossom trees become completely filled with these small, soft petals, but the branches of these particular trees reach low down to the ground, to about 6 feet...just above your head... creating natural canopies to walk under. Bus stops become archways of flowers, and the sidewalks I walk on day-in day-out are flourishing. I feel enveloped in blossoms; it's lovely.
Visually, yes, they're tough to beat... but the smell is one of the most phenomenal aspects of these beautiful trees. They smell so light and fresh, and mixed with the distinct organic smell of the ocean, Vancouver, undeniably, smells like spring...like life.
The city is in bloom.
The blossoms make everything so spectacular. Everyone walks among them and slows down their pace in order to enjoy a few more moments beneath the branches of the trees. One of the most ironic things I've seen is the kind of social gathering that occurs along the promenade outside my work, close to the Burrard sky-train station. There are benches there, looking out onto the public garden, and you'd like to imagine that this is where young and old couples come to sit and spend their lunch and evenings together, but how incorrect you'd be. In this corridor of flowers, is the smokers pit for all the Bentall Buildings. When I was taking pictures, dozens of people came and sat to have a smoke, on a bench alone, or walking along the railings of the garden. It seemed to be more a place of solitude. They were all juxtaposed against the organic qualities of the trees, an irony that was odd to take in.
But the best part of the trees, is that you ignore the other people around you. You're always looking up, at the swaying leaves and petals... a sky of pink. No need to worry about the traffic or the cars, the business people or the smokers....only the flower cloud coverage above.
Posted byPiper at 10:37 PM