Cherry blossoms and star magnolias will be eye candy for people out and about in the Hamilton area this weekend, according to a curator with the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) in Burlington, Ont.
“The cherries should be around peak bloom,” said Alex Henderson, RBG’s curator of living collections.
Henderson said this winter was unusually warm, which has extended the local bloom season.
“Everything’s definitely early this year,” he told CBC Hamilton on Wednesday.
“The crocuses bloomed 23 days earlier this year which is kind of a record,” he said, “because it was so warm in the ground and it never really froze.”
He said what normally blooms around this time of year includes:
- Magnolias.
- Cherry blossoms.
- Forsythias.
- Hyacinths.
- Daffodils.
- Tulips.
Saucer magnolias will bloom in the next week or so, he said, and late-season magnolias will follow.
Other blooms to look out for in the coming weeks are crabapples, lilacs, irises, peonies and roses.
Cherry blossoms can be found in at the RBG’s Arboretum, Rock and Laking gardens as well as Gage Park, Bayfront Park, Centennial Park in Dundas and other sites scattered around the region.
Ecology and horticulture experts previously told CBC News the early blooms are related to our increasingly warming planet.
According to data from the CBC Climate Dashboard, most major cities in Canada saw higher-than-average minimum temperatures over the last 30 days.
Of the 48 cities CBC analyzed, only 13 had lower-than-average temperatures. The highest temperatures compared to the historical average were found in Hamilton, Thunder Bay and Windsor.
Henderson said if there are earlier blooms followed by bad weather — like this past rainy, windy Wednesday — it can create a domino effect, since it could blow away some blooms and affect pollinators.
WATCH: RBG curator offers advice to photographers and gardeners
Alex Henderson, curator of living collections at Royal Botanical Gardens, shares tips for people planning to snap shots of early blooms and gardeners after a warm winter.
For anyone gardening, Henderson said people should wait a few weeks before planting anything so they can avoid bad weather.
He added people shouldn’t cut back last year’s growth too early because it can benefit pollinators.
Henderson said people trying to take pictures of blooms this year should watch the weather and check RBG social media platforms.
