Spring Is In The Air

This year marks the 100th anniversary of when the Japanese flowering cherry trees were first planted on the National Mall. Generally the average peak bloom date is early April, but this year fortunately for us it happened the week of March 19th! Remember we were supposed to already be gone, but when the replacement hosts had problems, we were asked to stay a couple extra weeks and are we glad we did.

We drove into DC on Mon. and as we were heading towards the Tidal Basin to find a parking spot, we had our first view of the cherry blossoms near the Washington Monument…wow! We found a spot near the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and made our way over towards the Basin. Hundreds of cherry trees surround the Tidal Basin with some branches even hanging over the walkway. It was the perfect day to observe this incredible beauty because there was hardly a bud unopened and no petals had yet dropped to the ground.











The original trees were a gift from
Tokyo symbolizing friendship between Japan and the U.S. Of the 3,000 trees originally planted, about 100 are still standing including the two originally planted by First Lady Taft and the wife of the Japanese Ambassador. There are currently about 3,750 total trees of 16 varieties located in three areas on National Park Service land. Some of the original trees can still be found (and seen in this photo) near this traditional Japanese stone lantern that was gifted to the city and dedicated in 1954. This 20 ton, 10 ft. tall lantern is over 350 years old, and symbolizes the “enduring cultural partnership that re-emerged between Japan and the United States after World War II.”










Since 1935 the National Cherry Blossom Festival (http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/w.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/) has been held city-wide and annually brings over one million people to the area. This two week event features over 200 international cultural performances and events from a parade to art exhibits to music to food and more, most free of charge. The website will give you not only information on the Festival but also more information on the history of the cherry trees. We didn’t attend any of the Festival events but simply enjoyed the beauty of a gorgeous spring day.