Marjorie Shorter, United States Department of Agriculture plant quarantine inspector being interviewed by a Japanese newspaper reporter concerning condition of Potomac Park cherry bud sticks with Roland Maurice Jefferson standing nearby – photograph, 1981

The Tidal Basin, which is surrounded by the 1912 Japanese gift of cherry trees, is located in Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. This series contains background information on the history of the cherry trees in Potomac Park, correspondence, news releases, and articles. The documents cover the planting, gathering, and inspecting of budwood from the cherry trees in Potomac Park by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States National Arboretum. A few of the photographs show cherry trees planted in a nursery near Tokyo, Japan that were grown from budwood from the Potomac Park cherry trees. Series I. Correspondence, Series IV. Documents and Notes, Series V. Photographs, and Series VI. Articles also make references to these cherry trees. The subseries is arranged chronologically.