DC prides itself—for good reason—on its annual floral explosion of Japanese cherry trees in late March or early April. The original crop was donated by Japan to the U.S. in 1913, thus the centennial was just celebrated this spring. Actually, a pre-original crop of 2,000 trees came here via Seattle in 1909, but was found to be infested with pests and disease, not of Seattle’s doing, of course, and had to be destroyed. Japan followed with even greater magnanimity in 1913 with a donation of 3,020 cherry trees. Many of these were ultimately planted around the tidal basin near the Mall where tourists by the busload flock to witness the annual spectacle. And there is nothing like seeing it all first-hand. Some of the pioneer trees are still standing, though many have long since been replaced, with third generation trees occupying many areas. A multitude of events are organized around the symbolic friendship-inducing fervor of the blossoms, including a parade and a 10-mile run that I’ll write about next.
The peak blossom moment lasts only a few days and can be substantially delayed by cool weather, which pretty much describes the mid-Atlantic spring this year. The phenomenon is captured by scores of photographers who rise early to catch the low-angle light just right and hope to compose their wonders before the rest of us begin crowding the shores with our cell phone cameras. A few samples of my cell phone’s best are pasted below.
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