Image description: Cherry blossoms blooming around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.
Bottom left: The first cherry blossom trees arrive from Japan.
Bottom right: Diseased cherry blossom trees being burned.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the planting of the cherry blossoms trees in Washington, D.C. The trees were a gift from the people of Japan. The first Cherry Blossom Festival was hosted in 1935, sponsored by several civic groups.
Although the first trees were planted in 1912, the process to have them planted along the Tidal Basin began in 1885. Over the following twenty five years, many people fought for the cherry blossoms to be planted in our nation’s capitol.
In 1910, Japan donated 2,000 trees, but upon arrival in the United States, it was discovered the trees were diseased and infested with insects. All 2,000 trees were promptly destroyed. Two years later, in March 1912, over 3,000 healthy trees arrived in Washington D.C. from Japan.
First Lady Helen Taft and and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador, planted the first two cherry trees on the northern bank of the Tidal Basin.
Learn more about the history of the cherry blossoms.
Photos from the National Park Service and the U.S. National Arboretum.
We welcome your comments if you are 13 or older, and hope that our conversations here will be polite. You are responsible for the content of your comments.
We do not discriminate against any views, but may delete any of the following:
- violent, obscene, profane, hateful, or racist comments
- comments that threaten or harm the reputation of any person or organization
- advertisements or solicitations of any kind
- comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity
- multiple off-topic posts or repetitive posts that are copied and pasted
- personal information including, but not limited to, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, mailing addresses, or identification numbers
In short: be nice and add to the discussion. If you continually violate this policy, we may limit your ability to comment in the future. If you have any questions or comments about this policy, please e-mail us.
