Something you don't see everyday/Washington Monument

The top of the Washington Monument is visible through a break in the blooming cherry blossom trees down at the Tidal Basin in NW DC.

Photo looking across the Tidal Basin

Some of the 3,600 flowering cherry trees forming what looks like a liquid blanket spilling into the Tidal Basin in North West Washington, DC. Look closely and you can also see where on the Washington Monument they "temporarily ran out of bricks."

Perfect spring day in DC

This photo is a fine example of why people from across the nation and world come to witness the splendor of the blooming Japanese cherry blossom trees in Washington, DC. Jefferson Memorial is clearly visible in left background.

Cascading cherry blossom flowers

The flowering Yoshino cherry blossom trees at the Tidal Basin in NW DC are so old, well kept and well pruned they nearly resemble their cousins the Weeping Cherry Tree. The trees in this photo are between 70 and 100 years old.

Washington Monument reflecting in Tidal Basin

Looking across the Tidal Basin at the carpet of blooming cherry blossom trees you can see the Washington Monument standing 555 feet tall and its wavy reflection on the water in the Tidal Basin.

National treasure in the Nation's Capital

According to the National Park Service, there are about 100 original trees of the 3,700 planted in 1912, a highly impressive statistic as the average tree's lifespan is 50-60 years.

Across the Tidal Basin

The Washington Monument can be seen in sharp contrast between two cherry blossom tree branches. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the gift of trees from Japan, the National Cherry Blossom Festival is 5 weeks long in 2012 instead of the usual 2 ...

Washington Monument peeking through the cherry trees

The George Washington monument peeks through a break between flowering Yoshino cherry blossom tree branches. These trees are extremely hardy: they can be grown in nearly every state of the Union, save for a few states in the upper Mid-West, such as...

Pale pink perfection

Wonderful photo of the Yoshino cherry blossom trees doing what they do best: explode with flowers in early spring. Photo was taken in West Potomac Park at the Tidal Basin.

The best kind of explosion: flowers

The annual event of the approximately 3,750 fully grown cherry trees blooming at roughly the same time (give or take 3 days)makes for an awe inspiring spectacle, drawing perhaps a million visitors per year in just a two week period.

Softball-sized flower clusters

In return for the gift of cherry trees to the citizens of the United States in 1912, America responded with a gift of flowering Dogwood trees to the people of Japan in 1915.

Washington Monument as seen through Kutz bridge

The Washington monument can be seen throughthe Kutz bridge which carries Independence Avenue over the Tidal Basin in Northwest Washington, DC. A plaque on the bridge reads: "Completed 1943 for the National Capital Parks by the District of...

Cherry blossom trees lining the Tidal Basin

In this postcard-esque photograph of the cherry blossom trees in bloom along the Tidal Basin one can get a good feel for just how many flowering cherry trees there are in West Potomac Park (approximately 3,750 as of 2012).

Panoramic postcard

They say a "picture is worth a thousand words." This photo will give the viewer a good feel for the cherry blossom experience (although there is literally no substitute, which is to say nothingcan come close to actually seeing them in person)....

Cherry blossoms runneth over

Visitors can be seen walking along the Tidal Basin under a canopy of cherry blossom blooms. The trees have achieved a sufficient age to where their branches hang over the guard rail of the Tidal Basin.