The Pink Season

There is a fleeting season in Seattle, a brief time when all of the many Japanese cherry trees are in bloom… the pink season. It might be the profound Asian influence on Seattle, due to its Pacific Rim location and long history of Japanese immigration. Or, it could be just that these lovely trees thrive in the Northwest and provide one of the first glimpses of the coming season. For whatever reason, Seattlites though the years have planted and tended thousands of these stunning arbors.

The blooms last only 2-3 weeks, depending on the weather. Some blossom later than others (like the double-blossomed type), stretching the spectacle to about six weeks. Their impact on the early spring season is profound. When the trees are in bloom, one can find stretches of boulevards lined with big pink puff balls. When the petals fall, it is a blizzard of soft, pink snow that drift against the curbs and tree trunks and bunches of blooming daffodils. The leaves are bronze-green, lending a warm, rich tone into summer and fall.

Some folks are not impressed with the city’s fondness for these trees. Maybe these ornamentals are not modern enough, or pink is not chic. Admittedly, these are pretty trees, not dramatic in branching habit, or exotic in leaf shape or color. They have been in the landscape for ages, so are not on the cutting edge of landscape design fashion.
They are old-fashioned like the snowball bush, lilac and forsythia. In that way they are comforting like chicken pot pies and laundry lines filled with blowing linens held in place by wooden pins. And, they mark the coming of a welcomed season when the returning sun warms faces, loosens the soil, rouses flowers and birds, and lingers later every day.