Sakura Watch, May 11, 2016 - Gallery of a few blossoms in High Park that I shot on Monday evening. I'm currently super busy in putting together a work event and won't have a chance to visit again until this Friday, however after receiving numerous questions I wanted to post this to let people know what to expect in the park.

You will see a few blossoms - but when I say few, I mean very, very few. Expect to see a small cluster on a branch with the rest of tree bare.

What is up with the buds?

The main observation that has genuinely become a head-scratcher is what is happening to the remaining buds on the trees? You see currently it would seem like on average about 60-70% of the tree's buds have gone straight to leaf, a tiny percentage of 1% have created blossoms, but the rest seem completely stagnant with no signs of any changes or growth in the past few weeks. This is highly unusual based on what I've seen in years prior and don't know what to expect until the next few visits to see what is happening.

Something about Magnolias

Another item I feel a need to clarify is these flowers you see below are not cherry blossoms - these are magnolias. These are beautiful flowers, at least 10-20x larger than the average cherry blossom, and come in a few different varieties but the most common are these with the upper white petals and darker deep pink bases.

I see the media and others online posting photos and declaring 'the first cherry blossoms are here!' when in reality its not a cherry blossom at all. The only similarity they share is that they both tend to blossom at the same time. But nonetheless, still, go out and enjoy them - just don't call them cherry blossoms.

Watch for more updates to come this weekend.