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DC’s cherry blossoms enter ‘puffy white’ stage, approaching peak bloom

By Tadiwos Abedje

With the National Cherry Blossom Festival underway in D.C., the flowers have now entered the ‘puffy white’ stage, the last stage before peak bloom, the National Park Service said.

“The blossoms are starting to show. Now we’re just waiting on them to open,” the agency wrote on Twitter.

Peak bloom — the point when 70% of the Yoshino cherry blossom trees are open — comes as officials warn that cold temperatures and wind over the weekend could be devastating to the new flowers.

According to the National Park Service, peak bloom of the cherry blossoms happens in five stages: green bud, florets visible, extension of florets, peduncle elongation and puffy blossoms or puffy white. (Courtesy NPS)

The National Park Service said that they project peak bloom will be reached between March 22 and March 25. The cherry blossom festival will take place through April 16.

Follow the blooming of the cherry blossoms on the National Park Service website.

National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

By Neal Augenstein
The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.
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