Kwanzan Cherry Blossoms in Concordia Park - St. Louis

I mentioned in a few posts that we were in St. Louis recently to show the kids Nat's old stomping grounds.  It turned out to be a blend of vacation time with a little bit of work mixed in.  One of the mornings, I was trying to make a couple of work conference calls during our trip to St. Louis and found myself outside of the Kaldi's Coffee (Nat's favorite!) that is adjacent to Concordia Park.  You can find the location here.  The kids were eating their breakfast and I snuck away for some quiet. While I was pacing and doing the calls, I came across this small Kwanzan Cherry Tree that was in bloom and beautiful.  I'm familiar with the Kwanzan Cherry Tree because it is the same variety that I bought and planted after my first trip to Japan to see the Cherry Blossoms.  I took this photo a couple of weeks ago in St. Louis so they're clearly ahead of us bloom time because our tree hasn't bloomed yet.   But, they're behind the blooms that I saw in Japan on my second trip this Spring.

In terms of place-making here's the Concordia Park sign that sits right across from Kaldi's Coffee:

And for those of you who are genuinely curious (not sure why???), but here's a Google Streetview map that if you tool around you can see the close proximity between Kaldi's and the park.


Alright...now that you get a sense for the spot, let's get back to the trees.

I posted a photo of these peony-like blooms from our Kwanzan Cherry Tree last year on May 21st, so I'm thinking that we'll see similar blooms in the next few weeks. 

Seeing this tree in Concordia Park makes me happy with our decision to add the tree to our backyard.  This particular one is young like our tree, but based on the caliper, it is a year or two *older* than our tree, so as ours grows, I can revisit this post to see what we are headed towards.

Just last week, I shared how I've started with the art of bonsai and mentioned that I've increasingly been drawn to Japanese-style gardening.  That includes bonsai of course, but also thinking about how I can add and shape some conifers but also this footbridge that I shared last year as inspiration.  I also have been circling a Japanese Maple tree that I've been seeing at Home Depot this Spring, so my Japanese-style gardening kick isn't slowing down.

But, where did it start?  Back in May of 2017 with the purchase of this Kwanzan Cherry Flowering Tree.  The OG of my Japanese-style garden, I suppose.