The idea of planting Washington’s cherry trees came from Japan
The Japanese government embraced the idea of a gift of cherry trees as an act of bilateral friendship, but it was a handful of Americans who first promoted their mass planting in the District, notably author and adventurer Eliza Scidmore and a Department of Agriculture plant explorer named David Fairchild. Fairchild introduced thousands of economic and ornamental plants to the United States during his career, including varieties of the Japanese cherry. On a visit to Japan in 1902, he was taken by the way the cherry tree was used to line city avenues. When he and his wife settled in Chevy Chase in 1906, they planted 100 trees on their estate. Fairchild enthusiastically promoted their wider use. Scidmore, in writing about the Japanese hanami, or celebration of the blossoms, had already whetted the appetite in the United States for the trees. Their pleas were taken up by first ladyHelen Taft, who was looking for ways to beautify Potomac Park.
An initial planting of double-flowering cherry trees led to the offer of a major donation of trees by the city of Tokyo. The popular Yoshino cherry, with its creamy, delicate blooms and spreading canopy, is also called the Tokyo cherry.