As spring nears many are wondering where to enjoy the dazzling Cherry Blossoms.
Whether you are doing spring chores around your home like taking out the patio furniture, opening windows and finding your sandals or visiting garden shops to buy flats or seeds, make sure you also find the time to enjoy Cherry Blossom trees around Richmond which create a stunning pink or white spray to marvel or stage a photo shoot.
Cherry blossoms come from Japan and are a symbolic flower of the spring, a time of renewal, and the fleeting nature of life. Their life is very short. After their beauty peaks around two weeks, the blossoms start to fall. People enjoy eating, drinking, and barbecuing underneath the cherry blossoms.
The national park service details the many varieties.
The most famous place in the U.S. to see the blossoms are around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, and they have an annual Cherry Blossom Festival to celebrate the natural beauty and friendship between Japan and the United States as well as cultural exchange.
Seven Spots to Enjoy Cherry Blossoms in the Richmond Area
#1: Virginia Commonwealth University campus
(at 907 Floyd Ave, Richmond, VA 23284) There is a plaza with a big rams horn statue which is lined with cherry blossom trees. Cherry blossom trees are also found around Monroe Park.
An attendee enjoying the Richmond Cherry Blossom Festival on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in 2019. Photo credit: Facebook
#2: Fountain Lake at Byrd Park,
600 South Arthur Ashe Blvd, Richmond, VA (23220) A sidewalk trail encircles this small, scenic lake with a central fountain spray & pedal boats.
Cherry blossom trees at Byrd Park.
#3: Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden,
1800 Lakeside Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23228 Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is a 50 acres, botanical garden in Richmond, Virginia’s Lakeside neighborhood. It features a conservatory, library cafe and tea house restaurant. Cherry tree walk is located along Lake Sydnor. (Daily admission fee, or purchase a membership)
#4: Maymont,
1000 Westover Rd., Richmond, VA 23220 Maymont is a 100-acre Victorian estate and public park in Richmond, Virginia. It contains Maymont Mansion, now a historic house museum, an arboretum, formal gardens, a carriage collection, native wildlife exhibits, a nature center, and Children’s Farm.
Maymont has three types of flowering cherries – weeping Higan, Yoshino and Okame. Yoshino cherry trees are intermingled with Kwanzan cherries along the Tidal Basin in Washington DC. Weeping Higan Cherry or Prunus subhirtella ‘Pendula’, The beautiful weeping habit of this cherry tree softens any landscape. This fast growing tree is usually grafted; care must be given to remove all shoots below the 6-foot graft. Location: Maymont Mansion Lawn and east of Italian Garden. You can see what’s in bloom at Maymont. FREE admission.
#5: Mid-Lothian Mines Park,
13301 N Woolridge Rd, Midlothian, VA 23114 One of the first major industrial sites in the United States became a 44-acre preserve when Mid-Lothian Mines Park opened in 2004.
Now dedicated to the citizens of Chesterfield County, past and present, the cut stone ruins of the mines surrounded by the beautiful woodland testifies to the courage, innovation and sacrifice of those who started the U.S. industrial revolution. The park is free and open to the public 6:00AM to 8:30PM.
Cherry Blossom Carpet (Mines Park, Midlothian) by Nancy Helms of Midlothian. Photo credit: Scenic Virginia
#6: Brown’s Island
is an artificial continental island on the James River in Richmond, Virginia, formed by the Haxall Canal located at the bottom of 12th Street (on the James River)
Cherry blossom trees at Brown’s Island. Photo credit: Chen Da
#7: Windsor Way
is an elegant residential street in the Windsor Farms area (off of Cary Street near Mary Munford Elementary School) with a grassy median lined with cherry blossom trees with white blossoms.
Cherry Blossom trees line Windsor Way. Photo credit: Dogwood Dance Project – https://www.dancersofrva.com/
You can bring the beautiful blooms to you. If you would like a tree in your yard read up on how to choose which variety is best for you.
Organizations that support trees:
•Capital Trees is a Richmond based nonprofit that creates urban green spaces for our community. We work with public and private partners to restore and beautify the city’s green spaces to promote public health and foster community building.
•Reforest Richmond supports urban forestry efforts across Richmond, VA to ensure we achieve 60% tree canopy citywide by 2037.
•Richmond Tree Stewards promote & improve the health of city trees to assure the city’s forest will survive & thrive.
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