Who needs Paris in the spring when there is Brooklyn in April? Between April 5 and May 11, cherry blossoms will slipcover the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in their annual pink splash.

This time of year, called Hanami, is part of the Japanese cultural tradition of viewing each moment of the cherry’s flowering season — from the first buds to the luminous blossoms and, ultimately, the waterfall of petals cascading from the trees. And Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s peerless collection of cherry trees — the largest and most diverse outside of Japan — creates a canopy of blossoms worthy of celebration.

On the grand Cherry Esplanade, visitors can stroll through 220 trees of 42 different kinds: There are delicate weeping higan cherry trees that loosen petals into the water at the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, honey-scented blossoms of the Taki-Nioi, and stately double-flowering kanzan trees that fill the esplanade with pink blossom “clouds.”

At the garden’s Steinhardt Conservatory Gallery, there are wall-size murals of cherry blossoms, pastel drawings and expressive oil paintings inspired by Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s flora. These renderings are featured in the exhibit “Cherry Blossom Visions: Works by Charles Gustina and David Wander.”

For Sakura Matsuri, Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s two-day festival (May 3–4), celebrating the fleeting blossoms, visitors can enjoy a weekend of Japanese culture, arts, and performances for all ages. More than 60 events — including taiko drumming, ikebana flower arranging, and tea ceremonies — are free with garden admission. Last year’s festivities took place April 29–30, an April 24 preview of which is seen in the photographs above.

Sakura Matsuri, Saturday, May 3–Sunday, May 4, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is open Tuesday–Friday, 8 a.m.–6 p.m, weekends and holidays, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., 1000 Washington Ave. at Crown Street, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, 718-623-7200, bbg.org, $8 general, $4 students and seniors, free for members and children under 12.