Thursday, April 24, 2014

DC Cherry Blossoms

April in DC means cherry blossoms. I hadn't ever seen cherry blossoms before coming to DC and didn't quite understand what all of the hype was until I saw it for myself.
We didn't really know the history of the cherry trees and after reading up on them, we were even more impressed with the trees. You see, 2,000 cherry trees were donated to Washington, DC to be planted along the Potomac in the name of the City of Tokyo. They arrived in 1910, and then they realized they were diseased and infested with insects, so they had to burn all 2,000 cherry trees. 

The Mayor of Tokyo then decided to give a second donation of cherry trees to Washington, DC and they donated 3,020 more cherry trees, and they are absolutely beautiful.

They are all over DC, but making it down to the tidal basin is stunning. The entire basin is lined with cherry trees upon cherry trees, and they're all blooming at the same exact time, and they only bloom for a short time. Once you hear they're blooming, head down there during the day or a weeknight after work; don't miss them before they're gone.

3 comments:

Tanika said...

They are just beautiful!

Rachel said...

That's so interesting to hear a little bit more about the history and that the first set needed to all be burned! We have a cherry tree in our backyard that is pretty when it flowers. But it hasn't flowered yet, Spring is slower here.

sydni said...

DC is gorgeous! i'll have to remember to visit in springtime.

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