Spring has arrived, at last.<\/p>\n
Cherry blossoms are reaching peak bloom now across parks and streets in New York City and northern New Jersey, bringing joy as the metro area emerges from a cold, dark winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot deny the objective beauty of it,\u201d said Nav\u00e9 Strauss, New York City\u2019s director of tree planting. After two major snowstorms and bitterly cold temps he said, \u201cthis is a great moment for people to be like, \u2018Oh, right. Nature is beautiful. Nature is restorative.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can go out and really experience the beauty of it, even in an urban environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The region is home to multiple varieties of cherry trees. Two of the earliest-blooming cherry varieties \u2014 Okame and Yoshino \u2014 hit peak bloom this week.<\/p>\n
The Okame produces deep pink blossoms, and is the first to open each year. The Yoshino, the paler variety famous for lining the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is just days behind.<\/p>\n
Later this month, a third variety, the Kanzan, will close out the season in showier fashion with its complex, compound blooms, Strauss said. \u201cThey remind me more of a rose, where there’s petals on top of petals on top of petals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peak bloom in the region is expected to hit around Thursday through next weekend. Barring any severe storms, Strauss said park visitors can expect a week-and-a-half to two weeks of blooms.<\/p>\n
The best place to view the blossoms is in Newark\u2019s Branch Brook Park. The park, which is run by Essex County, boasts thousands more cherry trees than the nation\u2019s capital and is the largest collection in the country. (And, because it\u2019s not Washington, D.C. there are good restaurants nearby for when you\u2019re done peeping blossoms.)<\/p>\n