Spring is a beautiful season – it is the season of rebirth, a time for change, a time to blossom, it represents the start of a new beginning. Nature seems to rejuvenate in spring time as fresh buds start growing, the earth begins to gain back its colors. Spring falls on the months of March to May in Japan and many kinds of beautiful flowers are in bloom.
Contents
Popular types of flowers in Japan
Plum Blossom
Known as ‘ume’ in Japanese, plum blossoms mark the start of spring in the country because these flowers are the first to bloom during the season. The blossoms ranges from white, pink, or red and have strong fragrant scent.
Cherry Blossom
There is a wide variety of cherry blossom in Japan and over 200 kinds were cultivated over the years. The most popular type is the Somei Yoshino whose 5-petaled flowers are shaded in the palest pink, almost white. They bloom and usually fall within a week, before the leaves come out.
Rape Blossom
A bright yellow flower with four rounded and elongated petals and many seeds. These seeds which are known as rapeseeds which yields rapeseed oil or commonly called canola, that is use for cooking.
Daffodil
Daffodil is the common name for the plant genus Narcissus. It has a central bell surrounded by floral leaves and varies colour from white through yellow to deep orange.
Tulip
A flower that usually bloom on a stalk arising from amongst the leaves. Tulip plants are usually between 4 inches and 28 inches high and come in a wide variety of colours and species. It is the most popular of the spring-flowering bulbs.
Poppy
A herbaceous plant that can grow up to 4 inches tall with flowers having 4 to 6 petals. They are often grown for their beautiful colourful flowers. Petals of poppies are crumpled in the bud and as blooming finishes, the petals often lie flat before falling away.
Moss Phlox
Flat flowers with three to five petals that flourish on trailing stems and can grow around six inches tall. They bloom in rose, blue, white, pink, pale lavender-lilac, or striped.
Grape Hyacinth
Grape Hyacinth is the common name for the genus muscari which are plants that produce annual spikes of tight blue-purple, urn-shaped flowers that resemble a bunch of grapes.
Azalea
A flowering shrub that blooms in spring with flowers often lasting for several weeks. Plant enthusiasts have produced over 10,000 varieties of different colors of azaleas.
Wisteria
An ornamental plant that blooms vigorously in spring and has a huge, cascading flower clusters that are usually purple, violet, pink or white. It is a woody climbing vine that can grow on trellises that is as high as 20 meters above the ground and it can spread out 10 meters laterally.
Japan Flower Calendar
This chart shows an approximate blooming period for some of the popular flowers in Japan. A particular flower species may however bloom at a different time in other regions of the country with varying climate.
References:
☛ Japan-Guide.com
☛ JNTO.GO.JP
☛ visitgunma.jp
☛ Wikipedia