The cherry blossom trees at Nationals Park are now in place.
Team and city officials held a tree-planting ceremony this morning for one of 14 trees that now line the main entrance of the new ballpark. And if things go according to plan, the trees will be in full bloom for Opening Night on March 30.
"The cherry blossoms are a subtle yet extraordinary impactful image of our city, and so when you turn on the games this year and all the years in the future and see the cherry blossoms, you'll be able to instantly recognize 'that's the ballpark in D.C.' " Nationals President Stan Kasten said. "And that's what we were trying to accomplish."
The cherry blossom trees were purchased at the William F. Hammel Nurseries in Southeast Pennsylvania and delivered via flatbed truck. Local landscaper KT Enterprises planted the trees, and Frank Gambino, a vice president with Lerner Enterprises, helped select and transport them.
"This was a once in a career opportunity," said Gambino, who Kasten refers to as "The Man." (Not, "Godfather of Trees" as some of us originally thought.)
What to look for when picking out a cherry tree? Gambino said he needed trees that were large enough to have an impact as people walked into the ballpark, but preferably without low-hanging limbs.
The chief horticulturist for the National Park Service today said that he expects the cherry blossom trees along the tidal basin and East Potomac park to be in peak bloom between March 27 and April 3. That bodes well for the Nats-O's exhibition on March 29 and for Opening Night, though Gambino said the Nationals Park cherry blossoms could bloom earlier because of heat that might be reflected off of the cement concourse.
"Now we have a new way of knowing when spring has arrived in Washington D.C.," Mayor Adrian Fenty said. "Planting the cherry blossom tree here at Nationals Park puts together two of our most fabulous Washington, D.C. springtime occasions and events."
Also yesterday, we got our first glimpse of the decorative scrim that will be placed around the parking garages beyond left field. The first scrim features the logos of all 16 National League teams. Other scrims will feature the AL squads and a Washington "Hall of Stars."
