Ume or Japanese apricot is one of the three most popular trees in Japan. Others are pine trees and bamboo. Ume starts to bloom the first in the year, even under the snow. So it represents courage in Japan. Ume blossom is one of my favorites for its good flower scent.
Ume trees flower in the late winter, usually around this time of the year, but this winter is much colder and the blooming is much later than usual.
Today I went to the Expo Park Ume garden, but as expected even the earliest kind ...as you can see in the pictures above. I can hardly wait.
This is part of Floral Friday Fotos. Please come and enjoy other lovely flowers here.
can you eat the apricots latter then, or is it just an ornamental fruit?
ReplyDeleteGill
We have two different kinds,one is for food and the other for ornamental use. And in the Ume garden, there are many kinds of ornamental apricots. The most popular food is "umeboshi" or salty apricot pickles.
DeleteVery pretty, beagleAnnie! Have courage, spring will come!
ReplyDeleteaww what lovely colors..truly so sweet..
ReplyDeletesending you lots of spring wishes xxx
Beautiful photos, Annie, of these harbingers of Spring.
ReplyDeleteThank you for participating in Floral Friday Fotos!
What a beautiful set of images...such a vivid, hot pink for the flower buds. I'm sure the fragrance is a good one also.
ReplyDeleteIRIS I played along with Floral Friday this week. To view my share, you will need to scroll down on the blog post a bit.
These buds look so promising! Hope you're going to show us with the open blooms!
ReplyDelete