Your drive through Door County is becoming a little more beautiful every day as fruit orchard trees are beginning to blossom. Depending on where you are in the county, cherry trees are beginning to show their beautiful flowers to those who drive or walk past. The process started weeks ago when green round buds began to form before the first signs of petals emerged. Blossoms give orchard owners like Toni Sorenson not just smiles from the flowers’ beauty, but also a sign of what to expect for the season. Sorenson says getting up close to the trees helps gauge the tree's health, how it handled the winter, and the frost damage that could have come with it.

Sorenson says that you have plenty of time if you are planning a trip to Door County to check out the cherry blossoms for yourself. Sweet cherry blossoms tend to appear first, followed closely by tart cherries. The warmer temperatures and the peninsula’s position along the lake and bay also mean trees in southern Door County will bloom before those growing in northern Door County. Peak bloom usually lasts about 10 days, allowing visitors and residents to enjoy the cherry blossoms through Memorial Day weekend. Once the petals drop, Sorenson predicts that you can pick your cherries in the fields 60 days later.