Cherry blossoms in Washington D.C.

Photo credit: Washington.org.

In 1912, Japan sent Washington D.C. 3,000 cherry trees as a gift. Two years ago, it sent 250 more, one for every year of the American experiment. Those trees are in the ground now as part of a long-overdue Tidal Basin renovation that also brought wider walkways and a repaired seawall. They will bloom for the first time this month.

Washington is known for its spring season, but this year, with the National Cherry Blossom Festival running through April 12 and the country's semiquincentennial just months away, the season carries more weight than usual. Museums are mounting their most ambitious exhibitions in years, and new landmarks open across the city. The trees, for their part, draw more than 1.6 million visitors.

Originally published on theroamreport.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.