more Shirofugen this one at Beach and Thurlow. You can see the green elephant trunks. This is a suprisingly busy intersection, I had to make sure no bikes or cars ran me over :)
the grove of Shirofugen north of the Japanese Memorial in Stanley park are not as far along as the ones along Beach. I suspect there is a tad more sun/heat along Beach Ave compared to the cooler exposure closer to Lumbermans arch!
I forgot to post our bike the blossoms from 2 weeks ago, but I thought this one is worth sharing even if it is 2 weeks late. These pics were taken April 07. The 2 old Shirotoe by Lost Lagoon. But if you look closely at the 3 tree trunk pics there is a Chickadee, making his nest, in the trunk of the tree. There is also some pretty big fungi on the side of the same tree. Which is why I suspect the Chickadee is able to make his nest here. The wood must be rotting.
We specifically went to Stanley park on Friday to visit this tree, and got side tracked and missed going to that section of Stanley Park. I hope it will still be out next week.....
Went back to Stanley park last night. Just before the wind blew up and the rain came. Managed to visit the 'Gyoiko'. It is very subtle in the soft cloudy light compared to what I remember from last years bright sunshine pics!
It's very different from what I saw on April 21 too. But I did notice that it seemed more white and green than yellow, and I noticed that on its offspring at UBCBG too (Ornamental Cherries at UBCBG 2022).
This is only my third or maybe fifth visit this month to the 'Kiku-zakura' on Robson west of Gilford; I'm sure I'll be back. The shape of this tree is so appealing, and each blossom is a little gem, becoming even more interesting as it ages. On my walk 10 days ago, which @Laura Blumenthal helped me lead, Laura remembered the two 'Shiro-fugen' trees on Nelson just east of Chilco. I only remembered the 'Accolade trees around the corner on Chilco, and the 'Tai-haku' at the building next to this one on Nelson. These are not even on our map, but they will be very soon. They're very tall and not very wide, an unusual shape for 'Shiro-fugen'. The same can be said for the 'Kanzan' tree next to them. How is it, in what is generally the earliest-blooming neighbourhood, that the avium 'Plena' across the street from me is the last one in the city to bloom? @Willard thought she'd missed its flowers already. Here it is today looking splendid. The first photo is from my window yesterday.
I forgot to post the 'Shiro-fugen' at the Sylvia Hotel, across from English Bay, two blocks from me. The once deep bronze leaves are almost green now.
I am surprised that the leaves on the 'Shiro-fugen' just above are turning green before the flowers are turning pink, but the flowers on these two 'Shiro-fugen' on the 1100 block of Nelson Street are turning pink before the leaves go green. The early leaves at both locations were a very deep bronze. It's amazing to see that nice horizontal expanse on a boulevard tree. Here are the flowers on the 'Shogetsu' a block away on Comox Street. I don't seem to have done a habit photo this year for this poor thing. I'm always expecting every year to be its last. It's quite small, and only half of it is alive. The street leading from the above two locations runs along Lord Roberts School Annex and the adjacent park, a good 'Kanzan' location. A lot of schools in the Greater Vancouver area have done a Stream of Dreams on their perimeter fence. I'm collecting a few 'Kanzan' photos.
I walked past the 'Shogetsu' today, so here it is. I wasn't exaggerating - one of its two limbs is completely dead. It has lots of flowers, though, on its good limb. Flowers and petals are falling white, not really changing colour.
New I think this is a Shirofugen on the property of the apartment building on the east side of Bute and Pendrell. I think I see those elongated elephant trunks....or do I? Green leaf phase for sure but I wasn't here last week or the week before to see if it was bronze.
How are these not on the map (asks the West End scout who has known about them since day 1)? Yes, 'Shiro-fugen' and they're on the map now.
'Shiro-fugen' and 'Kiku-zakura' just get better and better-looking. Here is the 'Shiro-fugen' on Haro at Chilco. New flowers keep opening, so there are always white flowers in the mix, while the tree now gives the impression of being pink-flowering with green leaves. While there is a lot of variation in flower colour on 'Kiku-zakura', it gives the impression of being lighter-coloured. There is lots of interesting stuff happening in the centre of the flowers.
I don't know which type of cherry this one is. The blossom was very close to the trunk, and that was the closest one I could get a pic of. The flowers remind me of pantaloons, very soft pink. The tree itself is quite upright and flowering all at the top. This tree is at the north end of the Stanley Park Pitch and just before you turn south to go up the path close to the Gyoiko cherry. Its in the middle of the garden bed.
Not sure, but I think these are the 3 Autumnalis Rosea Douglas mentions in the Ornamental Cherries of Vancouver book, that are by the Daycare at Lost Lagoon. He says the spring flowers have longer stems, which these ones appear to have. The flowers were quite small. I'm looking for hairy pedicels and minute teeth on the sepals.....which I think I see, but it could be the power of suggestion!
