Tuesday, March 30, 2010

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...


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden


28 comments:

  1. Skeeter ~ What a lovely birthday celebration you had. Those trees must have been absolutely breathtaking to see in person. Happy birthday ~ May your year be filled with lots of love, happiness and all sorts of good things.

    FlowerLady

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  2. Oh, so pretty, makes me want our spring even more. Stuck with drab and wet again today. Major flooding for not having much snow this year.

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  3. That looks worth be dragged out of the garden for. I love the bi-color cherry.

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  4. Skeeter,
    What a nice say you must of had on your birthday! These places are so elegant and the sherry trees are so beautiful.

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  5. Yumm..makes me want to take a drive there myself. I thought 17 trees at our Arboretum were alot together, I can only imagine how beautiful it must have been with all you saw. Loved the houses too. And the camelias! Our harsh winter kept our camelias from being as pretty as they usually are. Thanks for taking us along--we sure had a good time! :)

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  6. Hi Skeeter, so much pink and white, could be spring in Japan (not that I've been there but it's how I imagine it). Cheers, catmint

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  7. Wonderful birthday outing....a pink party! Everything is so pretty, interesting info about the Cherry trees..

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  8. A very Happy Belated Birthday to you Skeeter. What a great get-away for you. Macon Cherry Blossom Festival looks wonderful. that is a lot of pink....and dark pink..and red....just fabulous!!! I like the variegated bloom! I wouldn't mind one of those in my garden.

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  9. Happy Birthday! Your birthday trip looks like it was so much fun. Lots of gorgeous photos.

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  10. That is really something! 300000 cherry trees in one city! I can only imagine it all in person. Great pictures of them. I do like that pink and white bloom. Awesome! The camellias are great too. Such a charming southern tree/shrub. I wonder just how old that gingko tree is? It is quite impressive too.

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  11. Absolutely breathtaking. What a wonderful idea to share those lovely trees with everyone in the community. It makes the town very special during cherry blossom season.

    I believe you are right about the Loropetalum. Darla has one on her Florida blog this morning.
    Marnie

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  12. Macon is indeed a beautiful city. The cherry blossoms add to it. It is the time of year when many Georgia towns celebrate one flower or another. TV news last night mentioned the upcoming Rose Festival in Thomasville in about a month.

    Thank you for sharing your birthday trip with us.

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  13. Good Morning everyone! It is going to be a wonderful week here in GA with temps hitting and above 80-degrees! I think the boat may come out this weekend...

    Flowerlady, Thank you so much for the wishes. These little get aways are the best way to celebrate a birthday for me. If I am home, I would be doing something work wise, so best to take me away…

    Dawn, I was just seeing the news on TV about all the rain up there. I feel badly for you when I have my windows open and temps in the upper 70’s today. But soon, it will be there…

    Les, so worth the dragging and I was not kicking and screaming along the way either, hee hee. Those cross trees were spectacular! I wish every gardener could have seen them glowing with the sun upon them…

    Randy, We always try to incorporate some kind of flower or garden trip for my birthday. Spring is a wonderful time for a get away and we take advantage of it too. I am still waiting for that Biltmore visit though…

    Meadowview, I only wish you could have been there in person with me to enjoy such sights! I was envious of the large group oohing and aahhing over the beauty. But I am lucky to have a husband to enjoy such sights with me. Glad to share with you today…

    Catmint, I cannot help but think of Japan as well when looking at these beauties. After all, that is where they got their start. I would love to see the trees in their home country in the spring. I bet something to remember for ever….

    Darla, I found the start to this so interesting. If only we had more generous people such as this one man to give those beautiful trees away! Can you imagine beautiful Cherry Trees filled with blossoms along your entire neighborhoods street all for free! Such a generous man…

    Janet, I was looking for the free trees but did not come across any, hee hee. I do believe the family heirs of Mr. Pickling still pass along free trees to the community. Such a wonderful program to have in a small town such as Macon…

    Cameron, Thanks! It was a day full of eye candy for me. That is a no calorie Birthday Treat for sure…

    Tina, I so wished you had been with me in Macon! Every corner had something to awe me! The Saint was tired of me going, look! Look! Look! When he was trying to navigate an unknown city. The drive through the neighborhoods was so face smiling. That tree was similar to the one in front of our old house in TN so I can only imagine it was planted about the time the house was built in the mid 1800’s…

    Marnie, How ironic that Darla has a Fringe on her blog today! I respond here then check out other blogs so I have not seen it as of yet. Will rush over there now, thanks for the tip! I wish all the wonderful garden bloggers could have been with me to see the town of Macon. Such a lovely place to visit and welcome in spring!

    Nelljean, I was captivated by the spring beauty of Macon. We will be celebrating the Azaleas during Masters next week although, the blooms better show up soon or they will be missed by lots of visitors to the city of Augusta! I will research Thomasville to see if the Rose Festival may be a journey for us as well...

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  14. What a fun birthday outing. Love those cherry blossoms, and I bet they smelled nice, too! Also love the camellia. :)

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  15. Well that looks to me like the saint planned a perfect birthday outting and we all got lucky by you sharing with us.

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  16. What a fun trip. I love seeing cherry trees in bloom. The one with the pink and white flowers is really neat.
    I really want to visit parts of the South one day and all the history that is there.

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  17. Beautiful trees and regal architecture. Thanks for sharing!

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  18. Monica, Ah the scent in the air on a warm spring day is lovely...

    Jean, I actually planned this trip. He wanted to go to the coast but I was thinking a bit too cool for that just yet. He owes me a coastal trip now :-)

    Catherine, There is so much History in the South. Just about every where you go you see something of interest…

    Gardener on Sherlock St,. Glad you enjoyed the tour of Macon, Ga with me today…

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  19. I live in Macon and can definitely say that spring is one of the most beautiful times of year here. Every street is full of flowering trees and spring is in the air.

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  20. I'm so glad that you had such a wonderful time. Thank you for sharing your lovely pictures. I had a picture of my Fringe on my blog a few days ago. I didn't know that it could grow so big until I saw your picture. I will certainly have to keep mine pruned.
    Carla

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  21. It sounds and looks to me to be the most perfect birthday present! Your Saint sure is!!

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  22. Wonderful trip -and thanks for sharing such beauty with us.
    Friends visited us from Japan today -yeah! The weather is great -very hard to get the kiddos to do there school work. The tulips out back are blooming -yes!!! Lil Bundle and I walk everyday to check the progress of the neighbors flowers, hehehe. So much fun -the housework is waiting, lol. Everyone have a super week! I hope you birthday gals had a great birthday this year!! Ciao

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  23. Happy belated Birthday, Skeeter! I've always wanted to visit Washington D.C. when the cherry blossoms were in bloom, but I didn't know that Macon, GA had a festival every bit as pretty. What a lovely sight! Love the old mansions, too. Looks like a wonderful way to celebrate your birthday.

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  24. What a great trip Skeeter. I sure enjoyed it. All that eye candy.
    You answered a question for me about a shrub. It's the Loropetalum. I saw them in full bloom in the parking lot of the local big box store & wondered what they were. I think they are pretty. I will have to check to see if I can find one.
    I'm glad you had a wonderful time on you special day.

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  25. I had some fun digging in the dirt today! Got a project half complete also! Yippee....

    Felicia, this was our first visit to your lovely town. I was charmed by all the old homes and of course the Cherry Blossoms too!

    Carla, that is how I guessed it was a Fringe Bush! I have been seeing them on the blogs so knew the name. How wonderful this blogging and guess what? I am now the proud owner of a Fringe Bush! Planted it this evening and I am so excited about my new baby…

    Anonymous, Tulips opening, Spring is there girl! Yippee and your European Vacation sounded like so much fun with the kiddoes too, lol. Who knew you could visit all those wonderful places in one week and without using a passport too! Your little Sidekick cracks me up with his boring museums. Too funny that boy! I bet Bundle loves the fresh air on his little cheeks during the long walks…

    Rose, Thanks! I have seen the Cherry Blossoms in DC although many years ago. They happen to bloom during my birthday that year. That is rare as they are usually later but it was a mild winter and early spring as I recall. They should be in full glory this weekend and yes, worth a trip to see them some time…

    Lola, I have been seeing these bushes all over town for years and from a distance, I thought they were azaleas! It was not until this year after seeing so many on the blogs and looking a bit closer that I realized they are not azaleas but Fringe Plants! I was so captivated by the one in the picture that I went out and bought one today. Lowes had them in 3 gallon pots for $15.00. I normally do not spend that much on a single plant but this was my monetary birthday gift from the Saint…

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  26. Thank you for visitiing.

    The cherry trees are lovely. it just seems it was yesterday when I went to my park and see our cherry trees. 6 months have gone already. New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, our seasons are opposite your.

    A friend of Jan is a friend of mine.

    Cheers,

    Happy Easter.

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  27. Thank you for visitiing.

    The cherry trees are lovely. it just seems it was yesterday when I went to my park and see our cherry trees. 6 months have gone already. New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, our seasons are opposite your.

    A friend of Jan is a friend of mine.

    Cheers,

    Happy Easter.

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  28. Lovely. I grew up in a cherry blossom neighborhood outside of DC.

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