People enjoying the Akebono Cherry tree blossoms at Queen Elizabeth park in Vancouver, BC.
People gathering under the cherry blossom trees and Queen Elizabeth Park (Purchase)
Most years I like to travel to Vancouver and photograph the cherry blossoms in the spring. Vancouver has a lot of cherry trees that bloom in and around late March/April. I tend to go to Queen Elizabeth Park and then Stanley Park and photograph my favourite trees in those places. The cherry blossoms are quite popular, so a lot of other people are also there photographing the flowers. In 2025 I made the above photograph of a number of people under some Akebono cherry trees in Queen Elizabeth Park. This spring I visited the same spot, and there were the usual tourists and locals photographing, taking selfies, etc. Also the usual influencer types with wardrobe changes at the ready. There was also a group of maybe 20 dancers, lined up in a formation, dancing under the blossoms while being filmed by about 5 people at once. Perhaps a music video of some sort. I don’t often include people in my photos, but in a location like this they are a big part of the story too, so I include them (not that I could easily avoid it).
This spring I made the photograph below of the same trees, excluding the crowds below. The flowers really are quite thick on the branches! Further into the park there is another grove of trees I enjoy, or at least I used to. In 2015 I made this post with some cherry blossom photos: Akebono Cherry Blossoms at Queen Elizabeth Park. One of these trees was one of the more famous trees in all of Vancouver – the Grandpapa tree. I believe it is the one in the back with a bit more of a crowd under it (in the previous link). This specific tree actually inspired the creation of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. All of the trees in this area were magnificent… and most of them are cut down now. Why would the park board cut down such popular and beautiful trees? Well, the answer is a bit complicated and hard to reach, and if you are interested – an entire article was written about it here: They Cut Down ‘Grandpapa’.
Akebono Cherry Blossoms at QE Park (Purchase)
The photograph above shows the blossoms on Akebono cherry trees. Akebono are also known as Yoshino, so you might recognize them by that name. These are the earlier of the cherry blossoms to bloom around Vancouver. A few weeks later a more ornate cherry blossom blooms – the Kwanzan cherry. I don’t know if there are a lot of these in Stanley Park or QE Park, but I should look for them one of these years.
Under the Cherrry Blossoms at Stanley Park (Purchase)
In Stanley Park I was set up to photograph this bench beneath the flowering trees. Two people were sitting on it, and I was waiting for them to leave. They did so, and I was about to make a photograph and this man and woman below sat down. I was going to wait for them to leave, but this seemed like a better moment to photograph. The blossoms above their heads are Akebono, and those in the distance in the direction they are looking appear to be Tulip Magnolias that are just about to fully open. During the Cherry Blossom Festival this is one of the busy spots, though it wasn’t too bad on this weekday afternoon.
Cherry Blossom Park Bench at Stanley Park (Purchase)
This last photograph is of the same park bench, on the same day. This is a popular bench! I’ve only rarely photographed this bench without people sitting on it.
For more photographs of gardens and cherry blossoms during spring in Vancouver visit my Garden Plants Gallery.
