For the first time in two years, delicate and striking cherry blossoms are in bloom at Jackson Park in Chicago, and visitors from across the city and suburbs took advantage of the nice weather this week to see the flowers in person.

But time is fleeting if you want to see the pink and white blooms.

"Cherry trees, depending on the variety, some of them bloom for about a week, some of them bloom for two weeks," Jacob Burns of the Chicago Botanic Garden said.

Located just south of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, along the Columbia Basin, the first cherry trees were planted in 2013. The number of trees has since grown to more than 190 trees, the Chicago Park District said.

"It actually has been considered a hidden gem, I think, for the last 10 years," Chicago Park District Operations Support Manager Karen Szyjka said.

Szyjka has been with the park district for more than 20 years and said this is the first time in two years the flowers are in full bloom. The weather conditions and temperatures have been favorable this year for the flowers.

"When the pink ones open up, the white ones are starting to open up and then we have this beautiful, staggered bloom time," she said. "It was a shame last year that we weren't able to experience the full beauty. That's a lesson that I think us Chicagoans really need to learn, which is about patience."

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An additional 20 trees are in the works for this spring and fall.

"The thing about cherry trees is that their lifespan is 25 to 30 years, maybe more, that we are constantly keeping on top of replenishing them," Szyjka said. "It's something to be celebrated when we do have this full open bloom and it's about celebrating life and rebirth, which is what spring is."

Burns said the cherry blossoms can survive as long as the temperature is above 28 degrees Fahrenheit.

"This year is pretty exciting because the last couple of years were dismal when it comes to cherry blossom," he said. "I would just encourage people to get out there and enjoy them now because you never know what next year will hold."

Plenty of people got their chance Wednesday.

"It's so beautiful and we need it, all of us," Nina Kavin of Evanston said, her camera in hand. "I feel like things are so rough that just coming down here just feels like a breath of fresh air."

"It makes me feel really just happy, which is a commodity," she said. "It's gorgeous—it kinda brings you back down to earth literally."

In partnership with cultural partners including the Japanese Arts Foundation, the Chicago Park District will host a cherry blossom viewing from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.