Cherry Blossoms

By Skeeter
The Saint took the day off from work on Friday and dragged me out of my Georgia Garden for a little birthday get-away. He took me to Macon, GA. Home of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Upon our arrival, I spotted swags of Blossoms with big pink bows adorning many Doors, Window, Poles and Light fixtures such as the one above.
I spotted a beautiful window display in the old downtown hub.
I was captivated by these beauties in different shades of pink!
Half pale pink, half deep pink. What is up with that?
They were so beautiful that I had the Saint pull the car to the side of the road for a closer peek.
I did a bit of research on the Cherry Blossom Festival and found an interesting story about the trees. William A Fickling Sr. came across a Yoshino Cherry Tree in his backyard in 1949. He had no idea what the tree was until taking a business trip to Washington DC in 1952 and seeing the same trees surrounding the Tidal Basin.
Once home, he learned to propagate the trees and freely shared them with the community of Macon.
Carolyn Crayton took notice of the beautiful trees and approached Mr. Fickling with the idea to donate trees to a neighborhood. He agreed as long as she organized the planting. On Saturday Nov. 24, 1973 500 Yoshino Cheery Trees were planted in the front of residents homes. This was the start to something special. 300,000 Yoshino Cherry Trees have been plated since the one spotted by Mr. Fickling in 1949!
The Cherry Blossom Festival was started in 1982 to honor the beautiful cherry trees of Macon, GA. It is referred to as the Pinkest Party on Earth! I was not sure about why pink when cherry blossoms are white but after a closer inspection of the blossoms, I do indeed see pink! We had no idea what to imagine but were a bit disappointed when entering the town to not see many trees. We were expecting streets lined with Cherry trees all along old downtown but to our dismay, only a few can be viewed downtown. Luckily, we stopped in at the city Visitors Center. We were given a map to follow in our car to see the street lined trees in the neighborhoods. They were breathtaking to say the least.
We also played tourist while in Macon by touring some homes. The Hay House was most impressive and referred to as the Palace of the South.
I recognized this tree on the front lawn of the Hay House.
The baby fan-shaped Ginkgo leaves were the give away of this very old tree. I bet this tree could tell some great stories if it could talk. A small garden is all that remains of the once grand gardens to this stately home.

Back to the front of this house, I want you to take notice of the Camellia bushes. These things are really large so I can only assume very old.
Here is a close up of one of the beautiful blooms.
We also toured the Cannon Ball House. Not as impressive as the Hay House but interesting just the same. The kitchen is in a structure in the back of the house like most homes of the 1800's but this one actually housed the dining room as well. The Saint nor I have ever seen this before.
Information on the Cannon Ball House.
I enjoy driving around old cities such as this one as you never know what you might spot with a quick eye. This huge bush with bright fringe caught my eye.
I am guessing this to be a Chinese Fringe Bush (Loropetalum)
I also spotted Spring and Winter mingling together. The Birds must not be too hungry in Macon as I spotted lots of berry's.
We enjoyed our little get-away to see the CHERRY BLOSSOMS, In the Garden...


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In the Garden