Am reminded by a professional journal that, even as we’re facing the prospect of a humongous storm starting Friday morning, cherry blossom season is around the corner. A few fun facts about these crazy plants: They originate from a contribution from Tokyo in 1912 as a gesture of friendship and goodwill. 29 years later…heh…

The number of trees has expanded to about 3,750 of 16 varieties on National Park Service land. They are not fruit-bearing trees, just the blossoms. The peak bloom date is defined as the day in which 70 percent of the blossoms of the Yohino cherry trees are open. The date when the blossoms reach peak bloom varies from year to year due to weather conditions, but the mean date of blooming is April 4. The blooming period starts several days before the peak bloom date and can last as long as 14 days.