Washington's Rite of Spring
It's
Spring again in Washington ... time for cherry blossoms. Washington's
cherry blossoms have come to symbolize the natural beauty of our nation's
capital city. Hundreds of thousands of area residents and visitors from
across the nation and around the world come here to witness the spectacle,
hoping that the trees will be at the peak of bloom for the Cherry Blossom
Festival. It's a sea of pale pink and white. (click
on the photo to the right to enlarge)
Today more than 3,700 cherry trees of several varieties grow around the Tidal Basin, at East Potomac Park, and on the Washington Monument Grounds.
Here's a history
of the famous trees, courtesy of the 
The
plantings of cherry trees originated in 1912 as gift of friendship to
the United States from the people of Japan. In Japan the flowering cherry
tree or "Sakura", as it is called by the Japanese people, is
one of the most exalted flowering plants. The beauty of the cherry blossom
is a potent symbol equated with evanescence of human life and epitomizes
the transformations Japanese Culture has undergone through the ages.
1885 - Mrs. Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, upon returning to Washington from her first visit to Japan, approached the Superintendent of Public Building and Grounds with the proposal that cherry trees be planted along the soon to reclaimed Potomac waterfront. Her request fell on deaf ears. Over the next 24 years Mrs. Scidmore approached every new Superintendent with her proposal with no success.
1906 - Dr. David Fairchild, plant explorer and U.S. Department of Agriculture official, imported 75 flowering cherry trees and 25 single-flowered weeping types from the Yokohama Nursery Company in Japan. He planted these on a hillside on his own land in Chevy Chase, Maryland, where he was testing their hardiness.
1907
- The Fairchilds, pleased with the success of the trees, began to promote
Japanese flowering cherry trees as the ideal type of tree to plant along
avenues in the Washington area. Friends of the Fairchilds also became
interested and on September 26, arrangements were completed with the Chevy
Chase Land Company to order 300 Oriental cherry trees for the Chevy Chase
area.
1908 - Dr. David Fairchild gave cherry saplings to boys from each District of Columbia school to plant in their schoolyard for the observance of Arbor Day. In closing his Arbor Day lecture, Dr. Fairchild for the first time expressed an appeal that the "Speedway" (the present day corridor of Independence Avenue, SW, in West Potomac Park) be transformed into a "Field of Cherries". In attendance was Eliza Scidmore, whom afterwards he referred to as a great authority on Japan.
1909 - Mrs. Scidmore decided to try to raise the money required to purchase the cherry trees and then donate the trees to the city. As a matter of course Mrs. Scidmore sent a note to the new First Lady Helen Herron Taft outlining her new plan. First Lady Taft had once lived in Japan and was familiar with the beauty of the flowering cherry trees. Two days later the First Lady responded:
The White House, Washington.
April 7, 1909
Thank you very much for your suggestion about the cherry trees. I have taken the matter up and am promised the trees, but I thought perhaps it would be best to make an avenue of them, extending down to the turn in the road, as the other part (beyond the railroad bridge Ed.) is still too rough to do any planting. Of course, they could not reflect in the water, but the effect would be very lovely of the long avenue. Let me know what you think about this.
Sincerely yours,
Helen H. Taft
April
8, the day after Mrs. Taft's letter of April 7, Dr. Jokichi Takamine,
the Japanese chemist famous as the discoverer of adrenaline and takadiastase,
was in Washington with Mr. Midzuno, Japanese consul in New York and when
told that Washington was to have Japanese cherry trees planted along the
Speedway, asked whether First Lady Taft would accept a donation of an
additional 2,000 trees to fill out the area. Mr. Midzuno thought it was
a fine idea and suggested that the trees be given in the name of the city
of Tokyo. Dr. Takamine and Mr. Midzuno met with First Lady Taft, who accepted
the offer of the 2,000 trees.
April 13, Five days after First Lady Taft's request, the Superintendent of Public Building and Grounds initiated the purchase of 90 Fugnezo Cherry Trees (Prunus serrulata "Fugenzo") from Hoopes Brothers and Thomas Co., West Chester, Pa. The trees were planted along the Potomac River from the present site of the Lincoln Memorial south toward East Potomac Park. After planting it was discovered that the trees were not correctly named. The trees were determined to be the cultivar Shirofugen (Prunus serrulata "Shirofugen") and have since disappeared.
August
30, the Japanese Embassy informed the Department of State that the City
of Tokyo intended to donate 2,000 cherry trees to the United States to
be planted along the Potomac River.
December 10, 2,000 cherry trees arrive in Seattle from Japan.
1910 - January 6, trees arrive in Washington, DC
January 19, To everyone's dismay, an inspection team for the Department of Agriculture found the trees were infested with insects and nematodes and other diseases. To protect American growers, the department concluded that the trees must be destroyed.
January 28, consent from President Taft to burn trees. This diplomatic setback resulted in letters from the Secretary of State and representations to the Japanese Ambassador expressing deep regret of all concerned. Dr. Takamine and the Mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki met the distressing news with determination and good will. Dr. Takamine again donated the costs for the trees, whose number had now increased to 3,020. The scions for these trees were taken in December 1910 from the famous collection on the bank of the Arakawa River in Adachi Ward, a suburb of Tokyo, and grafted on specially selected understock produced in Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture.
1912
- February 14, 3,020 cherry trees of 12 varieties were shipped from Yokohama
on board the S.S. Awa Maru, bound for Seattle. Upon arrival, they were
transferred to insulated freight cars for the shipment to Washington.
March 27, First Lady Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador, planted the first two cherry trees on the northern bank of the Tidal Basin, about 125 feet south of what is now Independence Avenue, SW. The first two trees planted were Yoshino cherry trees. At the conclusion of the ceremony, First Lady Taft presented a bouquet of "American Beauty" roses to Viscountess Chinda. Washington's renowned Cherry Blossom Festival had its inception in this simple ceremony, witnessed by only a few persons. These two original trees are still standing today several hundred yards west of the John Paul Jones statue at the south end of 17th Street. Located at the bases of the trees are large bronze plaques which commemorate the occasion.
1913 - 1920 - Workmen continued the planting of Yoshino trees around the Tidal Basin. The cherry trees of the other 11 varieties and the remaining Yoshino trees were planted in East Potomac Park.
1927 - April 16, the original planting of Japanese cherry trees was commemorated by a re-enactment of the event by Washington school children.
1934
- The District of Columbia Commissioners sponsored a three-day celebration.
1935 - The first "Cherry Blossom Festival" was jointly sponsored by many civic groups and became an annual event in subsequent years.
1938 - So beloved were the trees that a group of indignant women vowed to chain themselves to the cherries to defy workmen clearing ground for the Jefferson Memorial. A compromise was reached: More trees would be planted along the water to frame the memorial on the south side of the Tidal Basin.
1941 - December 11, four Cherry trees were cut down in what was speculated as retaliation for the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, although the exact reason for the vandalism was never substantiated. In hopes of preventing future vandalism, for the duration of the war, the trees were referred to as the "Oriental" flowering cherries.
1948 - Cherry Blossom Princesses were selected from every State of the Union and the Territories. From these princesses, a queen was chosen to reign during the festival.
All
photos by 