Cherry Blossom Memories

This year, Chukar Cherries and the Montgomery-Auld family celebrate 35 years of crafting authentic Northwest dried cherries and chocolate-covered goodies and gifts.  

That's 35 springs—35 times we’ve witnessed the breathtaking canopies of white spread through cherry orchards across central and eastern Washington. 

The Yakima Valley is magic in spring. March nights are still cold, but warmer daytime temps hint of dark winter’s end. Buds are beginning to swell, meaning white cherry blossoms and pink plum blossoms are about to cover the valley. If you listen closely, you can almost hear the change.  Early mornings, birds gather in groups chirping excitedly as if anticipating the brilliant cacophony of blossoms. 

When we first moved to our 100-acre cherry orchard in North Prosser in the 80s, I took daily walks ‘round the ever-changing orchard with my three young daughters in tow. In early April, the beehives were placed strategically in the orchard while the smell of the newly awakened soil, spring grasses, and emerging fruit buds perfumed the air.

At the first promise of blossoms, our walks were stopped for several weeks. We prayed for temperatures above 65 degrees and little wind to entice the honeybees out of the hive. With prayers and good fortune, a low uninterrupted drone signaled that working honeybees had commenced their instinctive flight to pollinate each open bloom. With the promise of future tiny fruit buds, the canopies of white blossoms open to the sky. It’s a magical time.

When watching for fruit tree blossoms, you don’t want to be too early—but you can’t be late. If you’re   planning a road trip to view the cherry & plum blossoms unfold in the Wenatchee or Yakima Valley, be sure to time your visit April 10th to 25th. Posted alerts and helpful hints may be found online at Northwest Cherries and Chukar Cherries.        

Rest assured, it is worth the effort.