Designer LeLe Chan started her Instagram account Cherry Blossom Madness, where she posts photos not only of the cherry blossoms, but also of people trying to photograph the sakura era. “A lot of people climb fences, sit on the front steps, ignore obstacles and gates and just try their best to get their shots fired without respecting property or the neighborhood,” Chan said. Chan says the construction in her neighborhood means that this year’s cherry blossom season has been quieter than in previous years, where she has seen everything from hip-hop music productions to photographs involving ornate studs and costumes. One shoot was inexplicably about fitness equipment, he says. “They got in a truck, stopped the truck in the middle of the road, unloaded two of these rowing machines, posed and took pictures of them in the middle of the road and then put them back in the truck,” Chan said. The Instagram account, she says, is a way to ease her frustration with the construction work and shed light on the situation in her neighborhood. Cherry blossom trees bloom in Vancouver in March 2021. (Gian Paolo Mendoza / CBC)

The constant echo of the cherry blossoms

Douglas Justice, deputy director of gardening and collections at UBC Botanic Gardens and scientific adviser for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, says the sakura season is starting to average this year, but things could go well. “I think we will have a kind of concentrated bloom this year, as many of the last cherries will probably bloom while some of the previous cherries are still fine,” he said. The cherry blossoms at David Lam Park in Vancouver on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Douglas Justice, deputy director of gardening and collections at the UBC Botanical Garden, says the sakura season is starting to average this year, but things could go well. good. (Ben Nelms / CBC)
“I think this is because it is suddenly starting to heat up and it will be just spectacular in mid-April.” Justice, who has spent decades studying trees, says they appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds. Douglas Justice, who has spent decades studying trees – pictured here on a street in Vancouver in March 2021 – says cherry blossoms appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds. (Gian Paolo Mendoza / CBC)
“Cherries require very little from us and offer really impressive, beautiful blooms,” he said. “The fact that they are so abundant in Vancouver, I think people easily accept them because they are so luxurious.” Chan says she admires the cherry blossoms from the safety of her home, as she suffers from allergies. Understands why people are attracted to them and urges everyone to respect trees and residents. “Enjoy them, they are beautiful,” he said. “These trees are … old, so you might not cut the branches, respect the neighborhoods you are in and keep in mind that people live there and clean themselves.” On The Coast4: 14 Cherry Blossom Madness Every spring, people in Vancouver look forward to seeing the beautiful cherry blossoms throughout the city. But with the boom come a lot of people who want to take pictures. We talk to Lele Chan, the woman behind the Instagram account, “Cherry Blossom Madness”. She records passers-by who sometimes took outrageous photos outside her house. 4:14