Cherry Blossoms in Bloom at Mississauga’s Kariya Park

You’ll want to have your phone on hand for some Instagram-worthy photos worth capturing.

Kariya Park will soon be dazzled by 65 beautiful cherry blossom trees and they’re officially in bloom! Nestled in the heart of Mississauga’s downtown, this serene Japanese-style park honours the City’s twin-city relationship with Kariya, Japan.

Each year, the cherry blossoms bloom for a very short time until their petals start to fall. Add Kariya Park to your bucket list this spring if you haven’t visited it yet! We’ve put together an official checklist of things to look out for when you visit.

• Inside the gatehouse entrance, keep an eye out for the stone tsukabai basin – which was hand-carved by Fumio Naito, a sculptor from Kariya, Japan
• Revel in nature’s beauty of rhododendrons, pines, gingko and sweetgum trees
• Checkout the zig zag boardwalk, which crosses a marsh containing Japanese irises and other water-loving plants
• Don’t miss the cascade waterfall with overhanging red Japanese maple
• Take in the view of the dry stream bed, representing a flowing stream with different sizes of stones, carefully placed to imitate fast and slow-moving currents
• Relax by the duck pond
• Note the turtle rock in the pond, which represents a turtle climbing out of the water
• As you stand on the bridge looking ahead at the large pond, you will see a group of rocks along the shoreline that represent a mother duck and her ducklings
• Located in the pavilion, don’t miss the Friendship Bell, which is rung on ceremonial occasions

Add Kariya Park to your list of things to do this spring if you haven’t visited it yet! The park is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. For more information, please visit mississauga.ca/parks or follow @MississaugaPF on Twitter.

Tags

• Gardens and Horticulture
• Parks and Forestry
• Trees