History of the Trees
Macon’s signature spring didn’t happen by chance — it grew from the vision of two people: William Fickling Sr. and Carolyn Crayton.
It’s the story of our people and their love of service that came together to paint Macon pink.
A Happy Accident
William Fickling Sr. was a rent collector for Washington Dessau Realty, where he was assigned to select neighborhoods in Macon before starting his own real estate business with Mr. B Sanders Walker, Jr., Fickling & Walker.
When landscaping his new home in 1949, a mysterious pink flowering tree took root instead of the southern Dogwood Fickling was expecting. After a trip to Washington, D.C., he recognized it — a Yoshino cherry blossom. Fickling began propagating the trees and sharing them with friends for free. Before long, the soft pink blooms began appearing all across Macon.
Spreading around town
The magical trees also sparked interest in Carolyn Crayton, Executive Director for the Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission. She asked Fickling for 1,000 trees a year for 10 years. Instead, he gave her 10,000.
Crayton organized a mass planting in the Wesleyan Woods neighborhood and got Georgia Power to help dig the holes with their post hole diggers. The project was completely volunteer-based and was so successful that she asked Fickling for more trees the following year.
"I asked if he would donate trees to plant in my neighborhood of Wesleyan Woods, and he generously agreed, helping my dream become a reality."
- Carolyn Crayton
When will the cherry trees bloom?
While peak blossom season is dependent on weather conditions, Fickling Sr. kept a log of the cherry trees and determined the average peak bloom date. He narrowed the range down to the last week of March, which is when Macon hosts the International Cherry Blossom Festival.
These are Fickling's original, hand-written notes. Fickling’s great granddaughter, Laurie Fickling, continues to keep track of the bloom dates yearly. William Fickling III contacted the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington D.C., who did a hybridization to create more heat tolerant cherry trees — birthing the Helen Taft cherry tree.
Watch the trees bloom in real time
Check out our Bloom Cam to make sure the blossoms are perfectly pink for your visit!
Cherry Blossom Capital of the World
With more than 350,000 cherry trees, Macon proudly holds the title of “Cherry Blossom Capital of the World." This pink, cotton-spun paradise is a medley of 13 different species of cherry trees, each with adding their own Spring shades.
While Yoshinos are considered rare in the South, Macon has them in abundance, along with other types of blossoms that are native to the region. Cherry blossoms symbolize renewal and hope, traits that certainly came to fruition when volunteers painted Macon pink, for the first time, in 1973.
From these early plantings grew something even bigger— the International Cherry Blossom Festival, created to celebrate love, beauty, and international friendship.
At the heart of this event was the drive of one woman — not afraid to ask for more — and one man, who loved the trees and his town enough to keep giving.
International Cherry Blossom Festival
The International Cherry Blossom festival, one of Macon's largest annual celebrations, first began on March 23, 1982 in honor of Fickling's birthday. For ten days each March, Macon transforms into a celebration of color and community — filled with parades, concerts and traditions that bring visitors back year after year.
During the festival, the city is filled with events that will keep you coming back for more. From Downtown festivities to Carolyn Crayton park, Macon becomes a cotton-spun wonderland filled with spectacle and joy for all ages.
A Legacy to Remember
“If it weren’t for Carolyn Crayton, most of the world still wouldn’t know about the beauty of the trees here in Macon, and Grandpa’s donations of them.
While Grandpa was understated and reserved, Carolyn was unabashedly proud of promoting the beauty of the trees whenever and however she could.
Macon owes a great debt of gratitude to Carolyn for promoting the beauty of the trees, for promoting the beauty of Macon, and the success of the Cherry Blossom Festival”
- Fickling Family papers
