Photo colleague Carla and I checked out potential images on Friday afternoon and concluded that the cherry blossoms around the tidal basin will not be ready for prime time until Monday or Tuesday. And the prospects for rain and snow on the weekend have raised some concerns that the blossoms may be damaged before then. A thorough article in the Washington Post provides the details.
On the positive side, the magnolia trees continued to be magnificent everywhere they are growing as illustrated in the image below.
Magnolia Trees at Enid Haupt Garden, Smithsonian Castle
(Technical: Nikon D810 with 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 35mm. Hand held, with fill flash 1/200th sec. @ f/16, ISO 400)
They also can be found, among other places, in the Outdoor Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art, Rawlins Park between the two lanes of E Street, and a small stand near the Korean War Memorial.
Magnolia Trees Reflected in Korean War Memorial Pool
(Technical: Nikon D810 with 70-200mm f/2.8 lens at 200mm. Hand held, exposure of 1/160th sec. @ f/14, ISO 800)
In addition to the Magnolias, the weeping cherry trees are in excellent viewing condition, but tend to be found as single trees in various locations. The weeping willows along the Potomac are also looking very nice.
Weeping Willow Trees and Weeping Cherry along the Potomac
(Technical: Nikon D810 with 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 29mm. Hand held, exposure at 1/125th sec. @ f/14, ISO 400)
And if you are over in the Federal Triangle area, check out the newly restored Mellon Memorial Fountain at 6th Street and Constitution Avenue. I suspect it will look good in any weather.
Mellon Memorial Fountain, March 17, 2016
In the meantime,
Keep Shooting…..
photographybykent 
Lovely photos. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the cold snap this weekend doesn’t damage the cherry blossoms. I have plans to photograph my daughter around the Tidal Basin for her graduation announcement. Will have to go to Plan B if it becomes worse case…❄️
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Thanks very much and I have my fingers crossed as well. Hope your planned shoot goes well. The Enid Haupt Garden might be a plausible Plan B although it tends to get crowded after 9 AM on nice days.
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Hope the rain stays off the blossoms for you! The trees in the reflecting pool look amazing.
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Thanks, Katie. I plan to go down tomorrow to check on things. Keep your fingers crossed!
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Fingers crossed Robin! 🙂
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So pretty
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Thank you!
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Thanks for the update, Robin. I’m thinking that Tuesday may be my target day.
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Sounds good, M Itch. I should have an update today or tomorrow on how things are going.
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Tuesday may turn out to be early. Chatted with an NPS Volunteer docent down at the tidal basin this AM and he was guessing this weekend would be the peak. The vast majority still looked tight to me, so I am tending to agree with him. Stay tuned…..
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I so want to get back to DC in the spring to see it in person again. Until then, I will enjoy it through your lens. Thank you. I awoke to snow this morning. Apparently Mother Nature isn’t quite done with winter.
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Thanks very much. Yes, it’s a good time to be here, and we were fortunately spared a predicted snowfall this weekend. Peak blooms look like Tuesday or Wednesday. Hope spring weather arrives soon in New England.
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Great post and beautiful images. There aren’t many flowering trees here in Western Colorado… your post makes me miss them!
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Thanks, Denise. Yes, this is a special time in the Washington DC area. The cherry trees around the tidal basin are finally starting to fill out so the next several days should be excellent.
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I’ve been to DC twice but missed the cherry blossom displays. It must be a magical sight as your photos in earlier years have shown.
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Thanks very much. This year was a little harder to photograph than previous years, perhaps because they started to emerge earlier than usual, were stalled by some cold weather, then were hit by a very warm spell that forced them to quickly go to peak. But however they come out, it is always impressive.
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The cherry blossoms were beautiful, but I thought the magnolias everywhere (almost!) were gorgeous too. Spring is an incredible period to be in DC.
Thanks for the info on the Mellon Memorial Fountain! Need to go back before I leave.
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Thanks very much for the comments; I’m glad you liked the images and that the info was helpful. Sorry for the late reply; I was out of the country for about a week.
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