Sunday, February 16, 2014

Flowering Dogwood

The many Flowering Dogwoods in bloom were a big highlight of our trip to the Great Smokies. Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) barely makes it into Ontario, where it's considered an Endangered Species, and doesn't survive at all where we live.

Here in Canada you can only see it in a few locations along the north side of Lake Erie, in the so-called 'Carolinian Zone'.  So to see it in bloom here there and everywhere through the Smokies was a real treat, and we were there just at the right time.

I'll always associate it with our drive through Cades Cove, where there seemed to be another dogwood at every corner.  And on a bright sunny day it stood out against the early green leaves of the forest beautifully.

The dogwood grows as a small tree, often it seemed to me on the edge of the woods or a clearing.  It's shape suggests branches reaching out almost like a series of flat shelves and it's often as wide as it is tall.

The blooms are striking against the blue sky, and have such a different look when viewed from underneath.

But the blooms are deceiving - the flowers are only the tiny yellow clusters in the centre of these blooms.  The white 'petals' are actually bracts that surround the flower cluster, but they're what makes the dogwood so attractive in the spring. 

And right near downtown Gatlinburg we saw several pink dogwoods, a strikingly coloured horticultural variety.

The dogwoods in bloom will always be part of our memories of the Great Smokies.  Those of you who live in Tenessee and nearby don't know how lucky you are!

Linking to:
http://mylittlehomeandgarden.blogspot.ca/

19 comments:

  1. These are really beautiful photos of the dogwood.

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  2. It's a beautiful flowering tree. I knew it was quite confined in terms of its presence in Ontario.

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  3. The flowering dogwood is beautiful, FG, especially the way the branches spread out so gracefully.

    I gather the bracts make it similar to the poinsettia, at least in one regard. With these photos, you're making a good case for visiting Tennessee.

    Karen

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  4. A lovely tree, our neighbour has one variety, and your photos show it to the very best of its beauty. Cheers, Jean.

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  5. hello fellow Canadian blogger. I love your dogwood photos. Hope spring is just around the corner now...although we have such windy and rainy weather right now that spring and dogwood blossoms seem so very far away. Well, here's hoping for more sun this next week. :)

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  6. Those dog woods are very pretty!! In my area, we see many dogwoods flowering in spring at gardens but house gardens. They like large place to grow!
    I am visiting through Sunlit Sunday from Japan.

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  7. We have a pink dogwood in our front yard --and several white dogwoods around the yard/area. Dogwoods are very common here --and so beautiful in the Spring. Sounds like you were here at the RIGHT time.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  8. Thank you for sharing, I love the way they just stand out so bold. Your Dogwood are beautiful, we don't have them on the Island not that I know of.

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  9. Love these photos of the Dogwood you were able to capture.

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  10. Spring is a very special time in the south. So glad your visit was so perfectly timed!

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  11. Your Dogwood photos are beautiful. I love Vancouver Island, but there is really no place like where you are for a glorious spring. It just bursts out! We have lots of Dogwood here - white and pink in our garden - and I love to look up through the blossoms at the blue sky.

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  12. The dogwoods grow and bloom just about to where I live, but not north. I discovered a few trees about 10 miles north of me last year, but haven't been able to get one to grow for me. Yes, they are understory edge trees.

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  13. The dogwood trees sure are pretty, especially the pink ones.

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  15. Beautiful! I love dogwood! It's our state tree here in Virginia.

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  16. Those flowers made me really miss spring.

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