Merry Cherry

3rd Grade

Ms. Abraham and Ms. Mitchell

Share what you know!

• Who• What • Where• When• Why• About Cherry Blossom and other

Flowers

who did the Cherry Blossom Trees come from?

After returning from Japan in 1885, Ms. Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore approached the Superintendent of Public Building and Grounds with the proposal to plant Cherry Blossom Trees around the Potomac Waterfront. Her proposal was denied though she continuously tried for the next 24 years.

First Lady Helen H. Taft finally honored Ms. Scidmore’s request in 1909 an outlined a plan to plant the trees.

Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador planted the first Cherry Blossom Tress along the Tidal Basin.

What is a Cherry Blossom Tree?

• Cherry Blossom or Sakura (Japanese kanji : 桜 or 櫻 ; katakana: サクラ ; hiragana: さくら ) is the Japanese name for ornamental cherry tree.

• Japan gave 3,020 sakura trees as a gift which had 12 different varieties.

• Somei-Yoshino" ......................................1,800"Ari ake"....................................................100"Fugen-zo".................................................120"Fuku-roku-ju".............................................50"Gyo-i-ko"...................................................20

• (The Gyoiko were all planted on the White House Grounds)•

"Ichiyo".....................................................160"Jo nioi".......................................................80"Kwan-zan"...............................................350"Mikuruma gayeshi"......................................20"Shira-yuki"...............................................130"Surugadai nioi"............................................50"Taki nioi"...................................................140

•Total.........................................................3,020

Where are they from?Where are they now?

• The trees were a gift from Tokyo, Japan.

• They were planted along side the Potomac Waterfront.

When did Cherry Blossom Trees get to D.C?

• 1909: December 10, 2,000 cherry trees arrive in Seattle from Japan.

• 1910: January 6, trees arrive in Washington, DC. • 1910: January 19, an inspection team for the Department of

Agriculture found the trees were infested with insects and other diseases.

• 1910: The trees were burned.• 1912: New trees were sent and planted in Washington, D.C.

Why did D.C. get cherry blossom trees?

• They were a symbol of friendship and diplomacy between Japan and the United States.

Observation Activity

• In front of us there are several different types of cherry blossom trees. Today we are going to observe the differences and similarities between the types and record our observations in a Venn diagram. Also, we will be able to identify the different parts of a flower on our own class diagram of a flower and the cherry blossoms in front of us!

Flowers and Friendship

• Let’s a create a flower using construction and tissue paper. On each petal write qualities of what a true friend is like. Also, lets try to sign the word flower.

Bibliography

• "Cherry Blossom History." Nps.Gov. 25 Jan. 2008. National Park Service. 30 Mar. 2008 <http://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/cherry-blossom-history.htm>.