The first few cherry blossom petals quivered in an icy wind Wednesday, signaling the beginning of an annual explosion of color in Wooster Square.
The blossoms opened up this week on a lone cherry tree at Chapel and Academy streets on the corner of Wooster Square Park.
The petals survived the freak snowstorm overnight Tuesday. They shone in the sun Wednesday afternoon, as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees.
That tree at Chapel and Academy is always the first to turn, explained neighbor Charlie Murphy.
The rest of the park remained bare.
A block away, a couple of blossom-peepers cruised past Hughes Place, where a heavenly canopy of Yoshino cherry trees draws spectators each spring. The blossoms are a fleeting sight, typically lasting for just 10 to 14 days.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there were no blossoms to behold …
… just a few pink buds.
Each year, organizers struggle to time the Annual Cherry Blossom Festival with the blossoms’ appearance, which varies widely from year to year. The next festival is planned for April 27. That may work out to be perfect timing, predicted Murphy, a festival co-chair.
“I’m feeling very good,” he said. “They’ve held off just long enough. With the festival a week from Sunday, we should be hitting it right on.”
Who planted the cherry trees and when?
They are spectacular when they are all blooming.