The backstory of Washington, D.C.’s famous flowering cherry trees features four determined and exceptional individuals, each with ties to two countries, the United States and Japan:
One was a trailblazing female journalist, another an eminent scientist; a third was known as a “plant explorer;” the fourth First Lady of the United States.Â
How they came to make common cause in importing an exotic tree to America—a cherry tree that produced no cherries—is the subject of this virtual experience that highlights sites along Washington’s National Mall and beyond.
If you’ve marveled at the dazzling display of Japanese cherry trees in bloom each D.C. springtime, here’s your chance to discover how and why the beloved trees came to be planted in the nation’s capital.
IMAGE Japanese stone lantern at the Tidal Basin CAROL HIGHSMITH/LOC
