As the National Cherry Blossom Festival[1] recently wrapped up, I recalled reading news items of our family members visiting Washington D.C. in the 1930s to view the cherry blossoms. For example, my grandmother Jane and grandfather Glenn visited shortly before they were married in spring 1937, while her sister Thelma was there with her beau:

Newport News-Sun, 15 April 1937. Many View Japanese Cherry Blossoms. Town folks who viewed the Japanese Cherry Blossoms at Washington D.C., Sunday, were: Kathryn, Melda, and Mary Rauch, Thelma and Jane Zaring, Ralph Grubb, Glenn Billow, John Keeny and wife, Blake Charles and wife, Ed. Freed and family, Luther Dockey and wife, David Reen, Robert Murray and wife, Ed. Deckard, and John Charles Jr. On Monday the following persons visited in Washington and viewed the Cherry Blossoms: Leon Long, Elmer Portzline, Martha Ulsh, Hazel Clouser, Mrs. J.D. Snyder and Mrs. Geo. Snyder.

I’ve been rather fascinated by the cherry blossom visits, since I myself have frequently visited the Tidal Basin and only recently discovered my grandmother had likely walked the same paths I had decades later. And I was taken particularly by how late in April peak bloom had occurred, since in recent years, peak is usually the beginning of April (if not earlier). I did a little more looking and found the attached graph from the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s University Corporation for Atmospheric Research which looked at the trends for peak cherry blossom bloom. So for what it’s worth (fwiw)![2]

Cherry Blossom Peaks

This year peak bloom occurred on 28 March 2021, 87 days after January 1st.[3]

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[1] I loved this guide to the various kinds of ornamental cherry trees in the Tidal Basin. The Kwanzan cherries are hitting their peak north of D.C. and the bright pink, carnation like flowers are so cheerful. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/cherryblossom/types-of-trees.htm. Accessed 16 April 2021.

[2] Sigh! I had found this information 2 years ago and misplaced the reference. It took a while to re-find it on the web. I don’t know that this is where I got it from originally, but it is where the information currently resides. https://studylib.net/doc/6689945/the-cherry-blossoms-of-washington–d.c.-the-trending-of-peak. Accessed 16 April 2021. If you prefer to see it in date format for peak bloom, see this: https://cherryblossomwatch.com/peak-bloom/. Accessed 16 April 2021.

[3] https://www.nps.gov/subjects/cherryblossom/bloom-watch.htm. Accessed 16 April 2021.