Check out the following from the AP wire: D.C. Prepares for Burst of Cherry Blossoms Horticulturist Predicts Early Peak WASHINGTON (Feb. 25) - Officials are forecasting an early spring bloom this year for the cherry blossoms in the nation's capital. ``They're going to bloom the first week of April,'' Robert DeFeo, a horticulturist with the National Park Service, said Thursday. He's successfully predicted the time of peak bloom activity for the 3,000 Japanese cherry trees that line the Potomac River tidal basin for the past nine years. The trees, whose fragrant blooms mark the start of spring, are direct descendants of the Yoshino cherry trees given to the U.S. government by the Japanese in 1912. They have become a major spring tourist attraction.