Brian Lairn on WNYC, and to end the show and the week on a note of beauty,

let's talk about this stunning beautiful time of year in our area with all the spring flowers

and especially flowering trees at peak loveliness.

You know, one day it's gray and those slush piles seem like they'll never melt.

And then boom, the cherry blossoms burst forth.

And wow.

So let's crowdsource some favorite spots for flower watching this weekend.

Call or text us at 212-433.

W-NYC, that's 212-433-9692, with your favorite trees, group of trees, or viewing spot for an April 11th or 12th weekend, 212-433-9-692, who has one?

And while we're getting your suggestions, we're joined by Heidi Chu, reporter for the news

organization, the city, who was one of the authors of an amazing mapping project of all the

great spots for the cherry, magnolia, and crabapple

trees in bloom now. You can find it at the city.n.yc. And by James Ketchel, a certified master

arborist and the manager of the New York City Parks Department's tree time program,

who was interviewed for Heidi's article. Welcome,

Heidi Chu and James Ketchel. Thanks for having us. First, can I ask each of you for a favorite

spot to Flower Watch these days? Heidi, do you have one? Oh, gosh, yeah, I have to say, I'm partial to my local park, but my local park is also

a stunning one, a Hunter's Point South Park. It's a beautiful park year-round. You know, you've got the

views of Midtown Manhattan, but in the springtime, it's just especially lovely with this

ring of cherries around. And what I love about it is it's not just somewhere that tourists go to see cherry blossoms,

but it's also just a very much functioning local park.

You know, I was just sitting under there the other day, writing the story.

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