VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Despite having to endure a recent freeze warning, signs of spring are around us, perhaps no more sight-pleasing than the cherry blossom trees that are near peak bloom at Red Wing Park in Virginia Beach.

As of Tuesday, the promenade at Red Wing Park “looks to be in Stage 4,” according to Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation in a Facebook post, “which means these blossoms will be in peak bloom in about a week.”

That would come just in time for the city’s Cherry Blossom Festival at Red Wing Park from March 25 through April 2.

Stage 4 bloom, otherwise called peduncle elongation, means that the blossoms will be ready in about a week, and, due to recent warm weather – the most-recent cold notwithstanding – “an early bloom was to be expected,” the city’s Parks and Recreation department said.

“But really, it isn’t incredibly early,” the post states. “It is just on the early side of typical bloom.”

It anticipates the first weekend of the festival to have the park “filled with beautiful peak bloom trees.”

Representatives from the city have spoken with their counterparts in Virginia Beach’s sister city in Japan, Miyazaki City, whose trees happen to be at the same stage as the ones in Red Wing Park.

Due to being at a similar latitude, or distance to the equator, Virginia Beach and Miyazaki City experiences the same seasons and climate, so their trees are also blooming at the same rate.

Just last week, the park’s cherry blossom trees were at Stages 2-3, in which the florets were visible and growing larger. The trees reached Stage 1 just after the beginning of March, which meant the buds were green on the trees.

Cherry blossom trees have a six-stage blooming cycle, and only stay in bloom for about two weeks from late March into early April. Conditions of the trees can change based on the local environment and weather.

For comparison, the cherry blossom trees in Washington, D.C. are expected to be at peak bloom around March 22-25, or a few days before that, according to a Facebook post from the National Mall and Memorial Parks.

For those wanting to get a sneak peak at the cherry blossom trees at Red Wing Park, some at the entrance to the Japanese Garden in the park are in peak bloom, which the Parks and Recreation department said is typical there.