Cherry Blossoms in DC

Just doing some catch-up here. In April, we went to see the cherry trees blooming along the Tidal Basin in Washington. Needless to say, we weren't the only ones there. The appearance of the cherry blossoms each year brings throngs to downtown DC.



These beautiful Japanese cherry trees - hundreds of them - were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo to the city of Washington back in 1912.

In a ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two of these trees on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. By 1915, the United States government had responded with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan.




The resident ducks didn't seem at all fazed by the influx of visitors




The abundance of pink blossoms each spring is really an impressive sight to see. In the midst of the trees you feel as if you are in a world of pink.