Spring is here again and the region’s cherry blossoms are back in bloom.
Blossom seekers may be pleased to know that peak bloom is arriving little earlier than normal, the city parks department announced Friday.
The city is home to roughly 6,000 park-based cherry trees, and more than 34,000 line city streets — giving residents and visitors ample opportunity to shake away the winter’s bloomless blues.
The aptly named Cherry Hill section of Central Park.
The parks department has compiled a list of suggested venues for blossom viewing, though people are encouraged to venture beyond with tools like the city tree map.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a favorite of springtime fanatics who want to stroll through a field lined with pink blossoms dripping from cherry trees.
Other picks include Sakura Park in Manhattan, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx and Silver Lake Park in Staten Island, though there are many other sites to choose from.
New Jersey's Branch Brook Park boasts one of the largest single collections of cherry trees in the U.S.
Across the river in northern New Jersey, Branch Brook Park is an option for those seeking to partake in the Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs through April 16. New Jersey has long said that, along with superior pizza and bagels, it boasts more cherry trees than Washington, D.C.
For the truly intrepid bloom enthusiast, there's a slate of cherry blossom trackers to choose from, including one from the Central Park Conservancy.
