Springtime is Cherry Blossom Time in Washington

The Springtime is Cherry Blossom Time in Washington 

By AGNES WINN 
Washington DC 

Cherry Blossom Time in Washington! What a delightful picture words bring to those who have  been in the Nation's Capital during charming season, which has become as famous as Tulip Time in Holland, and Apple Blossom Time in Normandy.

Spring in Washington is beautiful everywhere but in no spot does it present such an exquisite picture as in lovely Potomac Park. Here along the river front and the Tidal Basin has been created a scene of enchanting beauty. Until the park was laid out the river was practically unapproachable to modern Washingtonians and its beauties unseen, but now as one approaches a marvelous panorama greets the eye.

The grass, pale and delicate, is green beyond belief in the long field that forms the center which has the appearance of an island in a river. Encircling the park is a wonderful drive, picturesque, with large boled willows hanging gracefully over the waters edge, and a great garden of perennials, of iris, of jonquils, and masses of forsythia. But it is the bowers of pink blossoms on the small gray Japanese cherry trees that fur nish the famous and lovely setting unequalled in America for its beauty. The waterside becomes an exquisite dream of beauty peculiarly suited to the colors of Washington at this time.

The story of the trees is an interesting one. Learning of Mrs. William Howard Taft's admiration for the cherry trees when she was on a trip to the East, the Japanese government sent a shipment to America but these were condemned and destroyed. Later on, however undaunted by this apparent lack of appreciation, the mayor of the city of Tokio, upon the suggestion of a Japanese gentleman who had spent much of his life in America, presented her with three thou sand of them. This second shipment arrived in the spring of 1912. the last year of the Taft administration, and with simple ceremonies in the presence of Mrs. Taft, the Japanese ambassador and a few others, the first tree was planted on Potomac drive, or the Speedway, as it is familiarly known to residents of Washington.

Now with the first warm winds of spring. the pink and white blossoms of thousands of these flowering cherry trees, planted in irregular groups, stand out against the marble whiteness of the stately Washington Monument and the impressive Lincoln Memorial in the Speedway Park of Washington. Then it is that Potomac Park becomes a mecca for not only the residents of the Capital but for the many thousands of others who journey to Washington to join the annual pilgrimage to see this panorama of nature-some in motors, some on foot, and others galloping along the alluring bridle paths. The trees are cherished as a priceless asset and no one ever breaks a twig.

It is easy for one walking beneath these graceful flowering trees to understand how deeply there lies in the Japanese character love for the beautiful. It must be a great satisfaction to the people of Japan to know that throughout America there is a growing love and appreciation of their national flower. As soon as the blossoms burst forth, the Japanese Ambassador and his family may be seen strolling beneath the trees in native dress, which no doubt bring back happy memories of their homeland.

Japan takes the keenest interest in observing the enthusiasm of our people for the flowering trees and they are considered a real link of friend ship between the two nations. Those who have seen the beautiful cherry blossom scenes in Japan, say, that the setting of the trees around the Tidal Basin, forming a delicate pink fringe around the edge, is as charming as any view in Japan. Someone has spoken of it as an "entrancing gar land of pink and white petals".

There has never been a real cherry blossom festival in Washington, although now and then a pageant has been staged by a group of energetic citizens. Next year it is proposed to have under civic authority an artistic festival of music, dancing, and pageantry, woven around the story of the gift, and emphasizing the deep significance of international friendship, expressed by the flowering trees. In this way it is hoped to glorify the gift, and to give color and life to the spirit of springtime.

Three years after this gift to America, it was arranged to send a shipment of American dogwood to Japan. The trees were planted in Tokio, in the city parks, and were also distributed to the schools. Later on, thousands of dogwood seedlings were sent over, so that now an American, visiting Japan in the springtime, has the pleasure of walking under a profusion of the lovely dogwood, and dreaming of his homeland. And each spring as the school children of America admire the cherry blossoms from Japan along the Potomac, the school children of Japan look in admiration and wonder at the flowering dogwood of America.  

References:

Seattle Grade Club Magazine Official Organ of the Seattle Grade Teachers Club 1912