The Answer:

Fortunately for us, those Japanese cherry trees are everywhere in Washington D.C. The monument you are probably thinking of, though, is the Jefferson Memorial, which is surrounded by trees in West Potomac Park.

But with more than 3,700 trees in several different varieties it's no surprise that visitors and residents of Washington D.C. spend two weeks every spring celebrating their blooming.

The trees were originally a gift from Japan to the United States in 1912. In a ceremony on March 27 of that year, First Lady Helen Herron Taft, wife of president William Howard Taft, and Viscountess Chinida, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two cherry trees on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park.

Every year since 1935 a festival has been held to celebrate the blooming of the trees.

The 2000 festival was held from March 26 to April 9. Here is a link to the festival program in English and in Japanese.

—The Editors