As the cherry blossoms in the D.C. area peak and bloom, the best of the florets get the spotlight. Here are photos from the 2017 blossom season.
![On March 26, 1912, 3,020 cherry trees arrived in D.C. and were planted along the Tidal Basin. The blooming beauties have pleased many crowds since then. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_2HC-1798x1254.jpg)
WTOP/Hanna Choi
![As temperatures rose this weekend, people were out and about enjoying the sun and the backdrop of cherry blossoms. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_3HC-1880x1254.jpg)
WTOP/Hanna Choi
![A photo overlooking the Tidal Basin, one of the best spots to catch the cherry blossoms at their peak, captures the cherry blossoms framing the Jefferson Memorial. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_6HC-1744x1254.jpg)
WTOP/Hanna Choi
![Around 70 percent of the trees around the Tidal Basin are in bloom the weekend of March 25. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_HC-1707x1254.jpg)
WTOP/Hanna Choi
![People from all over visited D.C. to view the yearly pink hued spectacle. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_4HC-1880x1254.jpg)
WTOP/Hanna Choi
![The Washington Monument serves as the backdrop to the blooming cherry blossoms. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_5HC-836x1254.jpg)
WTOP/Hanna Choi
![Visitors stroll among the cherry blossoms, which are now at peak bloom. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1697-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![D.C.’s cherry blossom trees line the city’s Tidal Basin along the Potomac River. This is the most popular viewing spot for the blossoms — but it is not the only spot. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1698-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1699-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![This year is the 90th anniversary of the first National Cherry Blossom Festival. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1700-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![This year is the 90th anniversary of the first National Cherry Blossom Festival. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1701-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![It is a rite of spring in D.C.—cherry blossoms and tourists. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1702-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![The National Cherry Blossom Festival, an annual springtime celebration, attracts visitors from all over the world to D.C. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1703-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![According to the National Park Service, the average peak bloom date is in April. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1704-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![Throughout its four-week run, the cherry blossom festival hosts a variety of family-friendly events — from concerts to parades and more. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1705-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![In 1912, Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gifted 3,000 cherry trees to the nation’s capital. More than 100 years later, this act of kindness is still celebrated. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1706-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![Even though the trees arrived in 1912, the process of bringing them to D.C. took years — and it all started with the request from Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore in 1885. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1707-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![The first Cherry Blossom Festival was held in 1927, and has since expanded. Now, the celebration spans four weekends in March and April, and attracts more than 1.5 million people from all over the world. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1709-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
![A tunnel of cherry blossoms in Bethesda, Maryland on Wednesday. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/52.jpg)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
![A cardinal sits on a cherry blossom branch in Kenwood. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/10.jpg)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
![Cherry blossoms in Kenwood. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/8.jpg)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
![Cherry blossoms in Kenwood. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/9.jpg)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
![Cherry blossom florets from early March. (WTOP/Dave DIldine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/61.jpg)
WTOP/Dave DIldine
![Cherry blossoms at the tidal basin. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/13.jpg)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
![Wilted weeping cherry blossoms at the National Cathedral. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/7.jpg)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
![(WTOP/Liz Anderson)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/C7TUPrBW4AAE6i5-1672x1254.jpg)
WTOP/Liz Anderson
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/C7TUPrCXwAAYNSL-1672x1254.jpg)
WTOP/Liz Anderson
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/C7TUPrFWkAAyduA-1672x1254.jpg)
WTOP/Liz Anderson
![The jazz band was music to everyone's ears. (WTOP/Liz Anderson)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/C7TUPrHXQAUTQ9w-1880x1058.jpg)
WTOP/Liz Anderson
![A cold snap pushed back the cherry blossom peek bloom date, but folks are still heading out to see what's there. (WTOP/Liz Anderson)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherry-blossom-liz-anderson.jpg)
WTOP/Liz Anderson
![The cherry blossoms are seen not quite in full bloom with the Washington Monument in the background, Saturday, March 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AP_17077745747656-1880x1254.jpg)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
![Emily Watson, from Boston, looks at the status of the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin, Saturday, March 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AP_17077745751278-1880x1183.jpg)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
![People walk around the Tidal Basin under the cherry trees, Saturday, March 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AP_17077745795109-1880x1254.jpg)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
![People skirt the edge of a puddle as they walk around the Tidal Basin under the cherry trees with the Washington Monument in the background, Saturday, March 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AP_17077745791321-1874x1254.jpg)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherry_blossom2.jpg)
@natejphoto
![Cherry trees are at florets extended, the third stage of six on the way to peak bloom, according to the National Park Service. (Courtesy National Park Service)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/C6VHBZCUYAApqrC.jpg)
Courtesy National Park Service
AP Photo/Cliff Owen
AP Photo/Cliff Owen
![The early-blooming cherry tree variety ‘First Lady’ was developed at the National Arboretum. This picture was taken at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland on Friday. (Courtesy Margaret Pooler)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/First-Lady.jpg)
Courtesy Margaret Pooler
![This Okame cherry tree is blooming at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Pictured on Friday, a National Park Service Spokesman said the single Okame tree on the National Mall isn't quite that far along, although it's close. (Courtesy Margaret Pooler)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Okame.jpg)
Courtesy Margaret Pooler
![On March 26, 1912, 3,020 cherry trees arrived in D.C. and were planted along the Tidal Basin. The blooming beauties have pleased many crowds since then. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_2HC-260x174.jpg)
![As temperatures rose this weekend, people were out and about enjoying the sun and the backdrop of cherry blossoms. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_3HC-260x174.jpg)
![A photo overlooking the Tidal Basin, one of the best spots to catch the cherry blossoms at their peak, captures the cherry blossoms framing the Jefferson Memorial. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_6HC-260x174.jpg)
![Around 70 percent of the trees around the Tidal Basin are in bloom the weekend of March 25. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_HC-260x174.jpg)
![People from all over visited D.C. to view the yearly pink hued spectacle. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_4HC-260x174.jpg)
![The Washington Monument serves as the backdrop to the blooming cherry blossoms. (WTOP/Hanna Choi)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherryblossom17_5HC-260x174.jpg)
![Visitors stroll among the cherry blossoms, which are now at peak bloom. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1697-260x174.jpg)
![D.C.’s cherry blossom trees line the city’s Tidal Basin along the Potomac River. This is the most popular viewing spot for the blossoms — but it is not the only spot. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1698-260x174.jpg)
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1699-260x174.jpg)
![This year is the 90th anniversary of the first National Cherry Blossom Festival. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1700-260x174.jpg)
![This year is the 90th anniversary of the first National Cherry Blossom Festival. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1701-260x174.jpg)
![It is a rite of spring in D.C.—cherry blossoms and tourists. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1702-260x174.jpg)
![The National Cherry Blossom Festival, an annual springtime celebration, attracts visitors from all over the world to D.C. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1703-260x174.jpg)
![According to the National Park Service, the average peak bloom date is in April. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1704-260x174.jpg)
![Throughout its four-week run, the cherry blossom festival hosts a variety of family-friendly events — from concerts to parades and more. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1705-260x174.jpg)
![In 1912, Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gifted 3,000 cherry trees to the nation’s capital. More than 100 years later, this act of kindness is still celebrated. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1706-260x174.jpg)
![Even though the trees arrived in 1912, the process of bringing them to D.C. took years — and it all started with the request from Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore in 1885. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1707-260x174.jpg)
![The first Cherry Blossom Festival was held in 1927, and has since expanded. Now, the celebration spans four weekends in March and April, and attracts more than 1.5 million people from all over the world. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSC_1709-260x174.jpg)
![A tunnel of cherry blossoms in Bethesda, Maryland on Wednesday. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/52-260x174.jpg)
![A cardinal sits on a cherry blossom branch in Kenwood. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/10-260x174.jpg)
![Cherry blossoms in Kenwood. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/8-260x174.jpg)
![Cherry blossoms in Kenwood. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/9-260x174.jpg)
![Cherry blossom florets from early March. (WTOP/Dave DIldine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/61-260x174.jpg)
![Cherry blossoms at the tidal basin. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/13-260x174.jpg)
![Wilted weeping cherry blossoms at the National Cathedral. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/7-260x174.jpg)
![(WTOP/Liz Anderson)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/C7TUPrBW4AAE6i5-260x174.jpg)
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/C7TUPrCXwAAYNSL-260x174.jpg)
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/C7TUPrFWkAAyduA-260x174.jpg)
![The jazz band was music to everyone's ears. (WTOP/Liz Anderson)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/C7TUPrHXQAUTQ9w-260x174.jpg)
![A cold snap pushed back the cherry blossom peek bloom date, but folks are still heading out to see what's there. (WTOP/Liz Anderson)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherry-blossom-liz-anderson-260x174.jpg)
![The cherry blossoms are seen not quite in full bloom with the Washington Monument in the background, Saturday, March 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AP_17077745747656-260x174.jpg)
![Emily Watson, from Boston, looks at the status of the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin, Saturday, March 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AP_17077745751278-260x174.jpg)
![People walk around the Tidal Basin under the cherry trees, Saturday, March 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AP_17077745795109-260x174.jpg)
![People skirt the edge of a puddle as they walk around the Tidal Basin under the cherry trees with the Washington Monument in the background, Saturday, March 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AP_17077745791321-260x174.jpg)
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cherry_blossom2-260x174.jpg)
![Cherry trees are at florets extended, the third stage of six on the way to peak bloom, according to the National Park Service. (Courtesy National Park Service)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/C6VHBZCUYAApqrC-260x174.jpg)
![The early-blooming cherry tree variety ‘First Lady’ was developed at the National Arboretum. This picture was taken at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland on Friday. (Courtesy Margaret Pooler)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/First-Lady-260x174.jpg)
![This Okame cherry tree is blooming at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Pictured on Friday, a National Park Service Spokesman said the single Okame tree on the National Mall isn't quite that far along, although it's close. (Courtesy Margaret Pooler)](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Okame-260x174.jpg)