Sakura hanami in Harrogate

In Japan, the brief season of cherry blossom (sakura) is, I believe, celebrated with flower viewing (hanami) parties under the trees. You could well do that on the Stray in Harrogate, where avenues of cherry trees bloom for a while in spring. I've seen lots of photos of them, so when I was over that way recently it seemed a good opportunity to stop and have a stroll to view them. They certainly are beautiful. 

There was a local artist, Anita Bowerman, enjoying the sunshine as she painted a representation of the view. She was using a cherry twig - rather than a brush - to apply the acrylic. She said each year she creates new pictures of the blossom for her gallery, specialising in nature images in uplifting colours - blossom, bluebells and local landscapes. See her work in her Dove Tree Art Gallery and Studio in Harrogate (HERE). 

The Stray is a large area of open grassland and park on the south side of the town centre, originally part of a royal hunting forest. By the late 1700s, as Harrogate developed into a major spa town, the land was awarded protected status to ensure that it would always be kept open and accessible to the public. It contributes to Harrogate's renown as an attractive 'garden city'.