Washington, D.C.’s cherry blossoms are nearing peak bloom, soon painting the Tidal Basin in pinks and whites as the National Cherry Blossom Festival — running through April 12 — draws crowds. The National Park Service forecasts peak bloom, defined as more than 70% of blooms open, between March 29 and April 1. The festival typically draws more than a million visitors.
The trees began as a long-advocated idea by journalist Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, who in 1885 proposed planting cherry trees along the Potomac waterfront. After years of effort, First Lady Helen Taft accepted a donation of trees. The first shipment, arriving in 1910, proved infested and diseased and was destroyed to protect U.S. agriculture. Tokyo’s mayor, Yukio Ozaki, and others then arranged a second gift: 3,020 cherry trees of 12 varieties, which arrived March 26, 1912.
Twenty of those trees were planted at the White House. First Lady Taft and Viscountess Iwa Chinda, wife of Japanese Ambassador Chinda Sutemi, planted two Yoshino cherries on the Tidal Basin’s north bank. As a gesture of thanks, President William Howard Taft sent at least 50 dogwood trees to Japan.
Festival-style celebrations began in 1927 with children reenacting the original planting; the formal springtime Cherry Blossom Festival dates to 1935. The trees and festivities were interrupted during World War II: after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor some trees were vandalized and the public celebration paused. The festival resumed in 1948.
Today the trees remain a living symbol of U.S.–Japan friendship. Officials note the historical value — “Some of these trees … they’re more than a hundred years old,” Diana Mayhew, president and CEO of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, told NPR — and recent diplomatic gestures have continued the tradition: Japan pledged an additional 250 trees for America’s 250th birthday, planned for planting near the Washington Monument.
The trees require ongoing stewardship. The National Park Service manages bloom monitoring and care, supported by festival organizers and volunteers. Mayhew emphasizes community stewardship: enjoy the blossoms, but don’t pick blooms, pull branches, climb trees, or otherwise damage them — the trees belong to both visitors and the local community and need protection to thrive for future generations.