Fill my pages with spring cherry blossoms

Sakura on steroids in my Hobonichi

I go very hard on cherry blossoms from late March until April. It comes as no surprise to anyone because I love this time of the year — my neighborhood is filled with cherry blossoms. I even imagine the city putting out all this pink to celebrate my birthday month. Growing up in Taipei and Bangkok, the climate is too humid and tropical for any kind of cherry blossoms in the spring season.

Since moving to Seattle, I started to take notice of this spectacular bloom around early spring. Their beauty perfectly aligns with the Japanese cultural aesthetic of “sakura” or cherry blossoms signaling a new phase in life. It has become a ritual for me to pause to admire the cherry blossoms, or even make time to enjoy viewing them for a special event.

I collaged a scene from my Pike Place Market calendar with cherry blossoms to set the tone for March, illustrated by Sarah Clementson, an iconic watercolor artist in the market.

This time of the month, I incorporate all kinds of cherry blossom or pink ephemera into my spread. I also enjoy going on walks with my dog Cookie, and forcing him to pose for me in front of any cherry blossom trees I come across. Cookie doesn’t mind because he gets extra treats for this chore. My list of cherry blossom viewing spots grows every year, and I also challenge myself to find new “trees” or interesting sections in my neighborhood.

I have a special drawer filled with cherry blossom and spring-themed PET tapes and washi tapes. This is the time of the year I bust them out and decorate my pages lavishly with them.

To match the theme, I switched my fountain pen ink to a soft gentle purplish pink. The name of this ink is “yozakura”, or “cherry blossom at night”. I think it’s quite an elegant ink for the occasion. Sadly, this limited edition ink from Maruzen belongs to a friend and I only got a sample of it in my pen.

Finally, I printed out most of my photos using my reliable inkjet printer, first by collaging the images through an app into US Letter Size. Although I do enjoy doodling and drawing in my Hobonichi, the beauty of the cherry blossom season feels too ethereal for me to capture other than photos.

It’s now halfway through April, and the softer, gentle Yoshino variety of cherry blossoms are all gone by now. However, the Kanzan variety is still going strong around my neighborhood. I sometimes wish there were pretty cherry blossoms year-round, but I guess it’s also its fleetingness that makes it special.

I hope you enjoy my spring spreads!