Thousands of Japanese cherry trees are blooming on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. When the trees reach peak bloom, the United States’ capital city is awash in pink and white. In the 1920s, the average peak bloom date was April 5. That moved up to March 31 in recent years. And the 2023 peak arrived yet a week earlier, the National Park Service said last week. “I’m feeling like this is going to be the trend” because of climate change, said Matthew Morrison. He is the park service’s urban forester charged with overseeing the trees’ care. The yearly National Cherry Blossom Festival will run through April 16 this year. It celebrates Japan’s 1912 gift of 3,020 cherry trees to the city of Washington. Two of those trees were planted by First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, with just a few onlookers present. The average life of a Japanese cherry tree is between 30 and 40 years. Yet the two trees planted by Taft and Chinda and several others are still standing 111 years later. “That defies science,” said Morrison. He credited the tree’s long life to “a little bit of magic” and the year-round care his team provides.