<strong>Blossoms at their peak: </strong>Washington, DC's Japanese flowering cherry trees reached peak bloom on April 5. This closeup was taken around the Tidal Basin on April 4. The US capital's National Cherry Blossom Festival runs through April 15.
Blossoms at their peak: Washington, DC's Japanese flowering cherry trees reached peak bloom on April 5. This closeup was taken around the Tidal Basin on April 4. The US capital's National Cherry Blossom Festival runs through April 15.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
The National Cherry Blossom Festival started on March 17 in Washington. Every year millions of pink petals transform the city's landscape, signaling the start of spring. If you can't make a trip to the capital to see these delicate flowers bloom, enjoy their beauty through these photos taken over the years by CNN iReporters.
Winter blues bloom pink —
The National Cherry Blossom Festival started on March 17 in Washington. Every year millions of pink petals transform the city's landscape, signaling the start of spring. If you can't make a trip to the capital to see these delicate flowers bloom, enjoy their beauty through these photos taken over the years by CNN iReporters.
Courtesy Neal Piper
New York resident <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fireport.cnn.com%2Fdocs%2FDOC-767994">Navid Baraty </a>visited D.C. to see the cherry blossoms in 2012. This was his first time at the festival, and he said it was spectacular.
Winter blues bloom pink —
New York resident Navid Baraty visited D.C. to see the cherry blossoms in 2012. This was his first time at the festival, and he said it was spectacular.
Courtesy Navid Baraty
The <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org%2Fabout%2Fhistory%2F" target="_blank" target="_blank">National Cherry Blossom Festival </a>grew from humble beginnings, but now it's one of the largest springtime celebrations in the United States.
Winter blues bloom pink —
The National Cherry Blossom Festival grew from humble beginnings, but now it's one of the largest springtime celebrations in the United States.
Courtesy Navid Baraty
Baraty, a photographer by trade, rarely shoots images of flowers, but he made an exception while at the festival. "I knew it was going to be gorgeous, but wasn't quite prepared for how stunning of a show it really was," he said.
Winter blues bloom pink —
Baraty, a photographer by trade, rarely shoots images of flowers, but he made an exception while at the festival. "I knew it was going to be gorgeous, but wasn't quite prepared for how stunning of a show it really was," he said.
Courtesy Navid Baraty
More than 1.5 million people travel to the capital to see these blooming flowers, according to the <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org%2Fabout%2Fhistory%2F" target="_blank" target="_blank">National Cherry Blossom Festival's</a> website.
Winter blues bloom pink —
More than 1.5 million people travel to the capital to see these blooming flowers, according to the National Cherry Blossom Festival's website.
Courtesy Navid Baraty
A crowd walks under blooming cherry blossoms.
Winter blues bloom pink —
A crowd walks under blooming cherry blossoms.
Courtesy Navid Baraty
D.C.'s cherry trees have hit their peak as early as March 15 in 1990 and as late as April 18 in 1958.
Winter blues bloom pink —
D.C.'s cherry trees have hit their peak as early as March 15 in 1990 and as late as April 18 in 1958.
Courtesy Navid Baraty
The cherry blossom festival commemorates the gift of 3,020 cherry trees that Tokyo gave to Washington in 1912.
Winter blues bloom pink —
The cherry blossom festival commemorates the gift of 3,020 cherry trees that Tokyo gave to Washington in 1912.
Courtesy Navid Baraty
The 1912 gift is celebrated every year in the US capital.
Winter blues bloom pink —
The 1912 gift is celebrated every year in the US capital.
Courtesy Navid Baraty
The cherry trees' peak bloom, which is when 70% of the trees are blooming, is dependent on the weather.
Winter blues bloom pink —
The cherry trees' peak bloom, which is when 70% of the trees are blooming, is dependent on the weather.
Courtesy Navid Baraty
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial sits behind a blooming cluster of cherry blossoms.
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The Thomas Jefferson Memorial sits behind a blooming cluster of cherry blossoms.
Courtesy Ian Dixon
The National Park Service expects peak bloom to occur this year starting on March 17.
Winter blues bloom pink —
The National Park Service expects peak bloom to occur this year starting on March 17.
Courtesy Felix Masi
In 1915, the United States government presented the people of Japan with <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org%2Fabout%2Fhistory%2F" target="_blank" target="_blank">flowering dogwood trees</a>.
Winter blues bloom pink —
In 1915, the United States government presented the people of Japan with flowering dogwood trees.
Courtesy Felix Masi
Cherry blossoms are a familiar springtime sight for Washington resident <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fireport.cnn.com%2Fdocs%2FDOC-955495">Neal Piper</a>, who took these photos in March 2013. He was disappointed the blossoms bloomed a lot later than usual than 2012 because of cold weather.
Winter blues bloom pink —
Cherry blossoms are a familiar springtime sight for Washington resident Neal Piper, who took these photos in March 2013. He was disappointed the blossoms bloomed a lot later than usual than 2012 because of cold weather.
Courtesy Neal Piper
Here, the cherry blossoms overlook the Tidal Basin in Washington.
Winter blues bloom pink —
Here, the cherry blossoms overlook the Tidal Basin in Washington.
Courtesy Neal Piper
Piper took these photographs with the Washington Monument under repair in the distance. A 5.8 magnitude <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2012%2F08%2F23%2Ftravel%2Fwashington-monument%2F">earthquake caused cracks</a> in the monument in 2011, according to the National Park Service.
Winter blues bloom pink —
Piper took these photographs with the Washington Monument under repair in the distance. A 5.8 magnitude earthquake caused cracks in the monument in 2011, according to the National Park Service.
Neal Piper/CNN iReport
Cherry blossom season makes the city's monuments even more lovely.
Winter blues bloom pink —
Cherry blossom season makes the city's monuments even more lovely.
Courtesy Neal Piper
In the early 1980s, the United States government gave Japanese horticulturists some cuttings of cherry trees after a flood in Japan decimated many of the trees there.
Winter blues bloom pink —
In the early 1980s, the United States government gave Japanese horticulturists some cuttings of cherry trees after a flood in Japan decimated many of the trees there.
Neal Piper/CNN iReport
Cherry blossoms bloom in a variety of countries during spring. You can find these delicate flowers in the United States, Japan, Germany, India and even Turkey, just to name a few nations this flowering plant calls home.
Winter blues bloom pink —
Cherry blossoms bloom in a variety of countries during spring. You can find these delicate flowers in the United States, Japan, Germany, India and even Turkey, just to name a few nations this flowering plant calls home.
Courtesy Neal Piper
Travelers enjoy the sight of cherry blossoms so much that crowds start gathering at sunrise, which is when <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fireport.cnn.com%2Fdocs%2FDOC-763864">Ian Dixon</a> captured this photograph in March 2012. "Even at 7 a.m., it was getting tough to find good spots to shoot from due to all the photographers around," he said.
Winter blues bloom pink —
Travelers enjoy the sight of cherry blossoms so much that crowds start gathering at sunrise, which is when Ian Dixon captured this photograph in March 2012. "Even at 7 a.m., it was getting tough to find good spots to shoot from due to all the photographers around," he said.
Courtesy Ian Dixon
Spring brings cherry blossoms

Editor’s Note:

CNN  — 

It’s a Washington tradition that isn’t subject to partisan bickering or a lobbyist’s best efforts to influence.

The blooming of the US capital’s cherry blossoms reached its peak on April 5, two days later than the average peak bloom date.

Peak bloom is defined as the day when 70% of the Yoshino variety blossoms are open on the cherry trees surrounding the Tidal Basin.

“Best viewing of the trees will be for the next four to seven days, but they can last for up to two weeks under ideal conditions, such as cool temperatures to slow the progress from flowers to leaves, and a lack of high winds or heavy rains to bring the petals down,” National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said in a statement.

Initial predictions were for an early peak this year, but cooler than expected temperatures pushed it back.

Related article 5 great places to visit in April

The National Cherry Blossom Festival started on March 17 and runs through April 15.

The blossoms usually peak between the last week of March and the first week of April, but the park service reports that warmer or cooler temperatures have led to earlier blooms (March 15, 1990) and later blooms (April 18, 1958).

A gift of 3,000 trees

The festival commemorates the 1912 gift from Tokyo of 3,020 cherry trees to Washington.

The first trees actually arrived two years earlier, a gift from the city of Tokyo and due in part to the advocacy of Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, one of National Geographic Society’s first female board members.

These trees turned out to be diseased and were destroyed. In 1912, first lady Helen Herron Taft planted one of the first of more than 3,000 replacement trees sent from Japan.

The 1912 gift of trees included 12 varieties, but now two varieties – the Yoshino and Kwanzan – dominate.

Related article Sakura season: Your guide to Japanese cherry blossoms

More than 20 years later, civic groups and local government came together in 1935 to hold the first official festival.

The pink blossoms of the Kwanzan trees are often found in the East Potomac Park area, while the white blossoms of the Yoshino are found closer to the northern part of the Tidal Basin near the Washington Monument.

The 2018 National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 17 through April 15 in Washington. Here are some photos from years past.
The 2018 National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 17 through April 15 in Washington. Here are some photos from years past.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
The National Park Service predicts that the trees could reach their peak bloom starting March 17.
The National Park Service predicts that the trees could reach their peak bloom starting March 17.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Peak bloom is reached when 70% of the blossoms are open on the Yoshino cherry trees surrounding the Tidal Basin.
Peak bloom is reached when 70% of the blossoms are open on the Yoshino cherry trees surrounding the Tidal Basin.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
The festival marks the 1912 gift from Tokyo of 3,000 cherry trees to Washington.
The festival marks the 1912 gift from Tokyo of 3,000 cherry trees to Washington.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
The Jefferson Memorial framed by cherry blossoms, a popular scene for visitors to photograph.
The Jefferson Memorial framed by cherry blossoms, a popular scene for visitors to photograph.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
A rising full moon added a bit of drama to the budding trees along Washington's Tidal Basin in 2016.
A rising full moon added a bit of drama to the budding trees along Washington's Tidal Basin in 2016.
J. David Ake/AP
There are usually fewer blossom-peepers during the week.
There are usually fewer blossom-peepers during the week.
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Get ready for Washington's cherry blossoms

Marnie Hunter and Geet Jeswani contributed to this story.