The Cherry Esplanade at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. (Lightphoto/Getty Images)

Much like upstate’s fall frenzy of leaf-peeping season, the spring blooms of cherry trees around town are also a popular annual ritual. And while these flowering beauties can be seen across the city, the big annual event goes down in Brooklyn. Every April, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden holds a two-day festival filled with arts, culture, food and activities and of course, a stroll amid the grounds where these glorious buds are on full display.

All About the Cherry Blossoms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The 2019 Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the BBG. Tickets can be purchased for $30 here with discounted rates for members, seniors, students, and children under the age of 12. Festival events range from traditional taiko drumming and tea ceremonies to folk dance and martial arts displays to performances by indie rock and jazz bands. But don’t worry. If you can’t make the festival, the blossoms will be on display from April to mid-May with regular admission to the park.

Track the Blooms With the Cherry Watch Map!

If you want to time your visit perfectly, you can check out the status of the blooms thanks to the garden’s handy cherry blossom tracker (below).

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Cherry Watch map gets regularly updated to provide the blooming status of the garden’s cherry trees.

Each tree is mapped in the park and is updated as it blooms so you can pick the optimal time to go. Most trees are located around the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and along the Cherry Esplanade. There are 26 varieties of flowering trees on display at the park, but be aware that not all the trees will peak at the same time.

Brooklyn Renters Under $2,800 a Month Article continues below

Bay Ridge

341 86th Street

$2,650 No Fee

1 |

1

Bay Ridge

555 Ovington Avenue

$1,858 No Fee

1 |

1

Flatbush

335 Linden Boulevard

$2,599 No Fee

1 |

1

Stuyvesant Heights

1003 Greene Avenue

$2,592 No Fee

1 |

1

Crown Heights

931 Carroll Street

$2,690 No Fee

1 |

1

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

227 Winthrop Avenue

$2,752 No Fee

2 |

1

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

510 Flatbush Avenue

$2,526 No Fee

Studio |

1

Sunset Park

223 54th Street

$2,700 No Fee

2 |

1

Crown Heights

931 Carroll Street

$2,750 No Fee

1 |

1

Flatbush

2149 Cortelyou Road

$2,265 No Fee

1 |

1

Stuyvesant Heights

329 Kosciusko Street

$2,180 No Fee

1 |

1

Sunset Park

751 48th Street

$1,800 No Fee

1 |

1

What is Sakura Matsuri?

In Japanese, the word “sakura” means cherry blossom and “matsuri” translates to festival, so it literally translates to cherry blossom festival. And not only is the cherry blossom Japan’s national flower, but the tradition of cherry blossom viewing or hanami goes back centuries. Families and friends share food and drinks under the trees as a way to mark the beginning of spring. The bloomed flowers also serve as a reminder of the fleeting nature of life as they only last for roughly a week.

Pink cherry blossoms in Central Park (Cornelis Verwaal/Getty Images)

Other Places to See Cherry Blossoms in NYC

• New York Botanical Garden: This botanical garden has its own cherry blossom tracker so enthusiasts can pick the optimal time to visit. There’s more than 200 cherry trees spread across the garden. Visitors can view them along the cherry collection path, an additional row in front of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and among the evergreens in the Arthur and Janet Ross Conifer Arboretum.
• Sakura Park: This uptown park lives up to its name from a portion of the 2,000 cherry trees that were gifted to NYC parks in 1912 from the Committee of Japanese Residents of New York. The park is located on West 122nd Street and Riverside Drive, across from Riverside Church.
• Riverside Park Cherry Walk: Enjoy four miles of cherry trees planted along a pedestrian path adjacent to the Hudson River.
• Roosevelt Island: Cherry blossoms in full bloom are pretty hard to beat, but on Roosevelt Island, you can kick the scenery up a notch with the Manhattan skyline as backdrop.
• Central Park: According to the website, the highest concentration of cherry trees are around the Reservoir, Cherry Hill, Pilgrim Hill, Great Lawn, Cedar Hill, and the area just south of Cedar Hill between 74th and 77th Streets. You can check out the trees dotting the reservoir solo, or take a 90-minute guided tour.
• Flushing Meadows Corona Park: While not as big at Brooklyn’s festival, Queens will hold its 15th annual Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday, April 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free event features taiko drummers, a tea ceremony, plus traditional Japanese chorus.

Manhattan Rentals Under $2,800 a Month Article continues below

East Village

345 East 9th Street

$2,100 No Fee

Studio |

1

Yorkville

313 East 90th Street

$2,250 No Fee

Studio |

1

Lower East Side

19 Clinton Street

$2,695 No Fee

Studio |

1

Fort George

683 West 193rd Street

$2,000 No Fee

1 |

1

Hamilton Heights

557 West 148th Street

$1,900 No Fee

1 |

1

Carnegie Hill

160 East 91st Street

$1,900 No Fee

Studio |

1

Hamilton Heights

506 West 148th Street

$1,900 No Fee

1 |

1

Washington Heights

720 West 173rd Street

$2,800 No Fee

2 |

1

Upper West Side

240 West 73rd Street

$2,700 No Fee

Studio |

1

West Village

26 Seventh Avenue South

$2,600 No Fee

Studio |

1

Central Harlem

446 Saint Nicholas’s Avenue

$1,950 No Fee

1 |

1

Hamilton Heights

842 Saint Nicholas Avenue

$1,825 No Fee

Studio |

1

—
Got an interesting NYC real estate story or a hot tip? Send it to us at tips@streeteasy.com. (You will remain anonymous.) And hey, why not like StreetEasy on Facebook and follow @streeteasy on Instagram?