The garden is open & sakura on the UW quad

SJG • 3/6/16 - Reverend Barrish of Tsubaki Shinto temple in front of the Garden's gate , blessing ceremony

by aleks

The SJG officially opened for 2016 season on March 6 and welcomes you for the reminder of the year, and the 2016 Cherry Blossom Viewing (sakura) on UW quad opened 2 days later, on March 8 with calligraphy, aka poetry and tea ceremony - the blossoms will be there for you for another 2 weeks or so.

SJG • 3/6/16 - Rev. Barrish inside the Garden, blessing the pond with offering of sake and rice

Only 3 years earlier those events were like 3 weeks apart (check this blog's  past entries)  - what can I say?  We had another warm winter in Seattle and the cherries are blooming almost immediately after, or nearly with  the ornamental plums - a traditional Japanese spring harbinger...

UW Quad yoshino cherries • 3/12/16

UW yoshino cherry blossoms - up close on the trunk