Mother Nature Marches On: Your Weekly Dogwood Report - April 15

My backyard dogwood tree is just outside the kitchen pantry window and it’s a welcome sight each morning.  In the backyard, the tree itself is in the shadow of Old Man Tree, the giant red oak tree that is just off the back deck.  Even in the shadows of that noble old tree, the white flowers of the dogwood stand out.

The blooming season is here and in this morning’s sunlight the dogwood is standing tall.

For the next few weeks, as flowers and young leaves emerge, I will post a picture of the dogwood on Wednesday.  It’s a reminder that Spring and Mother Nature march on, even as we stay home under the shelter and shade of the dogwood.

Dogwood Day: April 18

As the days have steadily warmed, Spring is in full bloom in my backyard.  The dogwood has been busy in the last week.

All of the flowers have begun to open; some are fully in bloom.

Spring’s milder air and expectant feel have made for a lovely April so far.  There's even more to come and I’m looking forward to breathing in all of it!

Dogwood Day: April 11

We’ve had the perfect combination of rain and warmth and the dogwood tree in my backyard is making fast work to make flowers.  

It’s always nice to have the dogwood blooms for Easter and we are well on our way to making that deadline.

Dogwood Day: April 4

Sunlight and a good measure of warmth has really brought out the blooms around here.  There are yesterday’s daffodils and crocuses; sights to be seen all over town.  Tulips are up everywhere in my yard.  On my daily drive to work, I’ve seen at least one dogwood already in bloom.  Mine is moving at a more stately pace but I know it will be well-worth the wait.

Spring, you are so very lovely.

Dogwood Day: March 28

A quick look at my garden journal from recent years reveals that the dogwood won’t get serious about showing off its flowers until late April.  Sometimes, May has arrived before the flowers show themselves.  But it’s been sunny and warm for the last few weeks and I suspect this year will bring earlier blooms.  One thing is clear: I am ready to start the dogwood watch!

The buds are present in abundance, still tight against the cold nights.

I see the potential for dogwood flowers here and I am so very excited for the coming season of blooms.

Dogwood Monday: October 29

I feel more anticipation for the November 6 election than I have every felt about an election in my lifetime.  It feels like so much is on the line, with daily reminders of just what a tiny, venal, mean-spirited, man we’ve placed in the White House.  Then an incident like the shooting in Pittsburgh occurs and I feel powerless.  

It seems silly to step on the back deck and admire my trees when the world feels like it’s on fire.  But these trees and this garden are my hope in the world.  And hope, however tenuous, is the only way forward.  So today I will celebrate the changing leaves on my dogwood and remind myself that when we can find hope we can survive.

Dogwood Monday: October 22

After a warmer than usual September and early October, sometime last week, Fall took firm hold of our days.  Sweaters came out in abundance as a decisive chill took hold.  I turned off the air conditioner on Tuesday and turned on the furnace in the same week, an unusual development.  The dogwood’s changes have really taken off thanks to the cool nights in the past week.

These pictures were made this morning, in the dim sunlight.  Each day features a bit less sunlight and as we march toward the time change, I look forward to the sunlight in the morning, the only consolation for the dark afternoons that are coming our way soon.

There will be some leaf-raking in my future, likely plenty of it.  I don’t mind because Fall means hot tea, homemade soups, cinnamon apples, pumpkin everything, and cozy blankets.  That’s happy!

Dogwood Monday: October 15

Last week was humid and warm until Thursday, when a storm blew through and left Fall in its wake.  So though I started the week with the air conditioner turned on, by the end of the week, I had started the furnace for the season.   Fall is here.

The dogwood is getting after its seasonal change assignment.  Rain and cold temperatures are forecast for the week and that should accelerate the transformation.

Changing leaves, pumpkins, mums, fall soups, cozy sweaters…..all of Fall is on tap!

Dogwood Monday: October 8

My dogwood is one of the first things I see each morning and its seasonal changes are always enjoyable for me to observe.  

So far, it’s been a warm Fall, so warm that it’s rather hard to believe that seasonal change is at hand.  But there have been enough cool evenings to notify the dogwood that it’s time for the leaves to change color; berries and a slight red of the leaves have emerged.

Each Monday for the next few weeks, I’ll mark the progression of the dogwood leaves until the branches are bare for the Winter.  

Dogwood Day: Tuesday, May 17

We’ve reached the point of Spring where verdant, lush green is everywhere.  All over town, dogwood trees are transitioning from flowers to leaves.  My tree is no exception.

This stage of Spring is unbelievably lovely, with mild air and fresh colors everywhere I look.  I sleep with the windows wide open and wake to morning color that makes the world seem like a splendid place.  There’s a freshness that makes it seem like all things are possible.  

That’s happy!

Dogwood Day: Tuesday, May 8

In the past week, white flowers emerged on my dogwood tree.

Blooms and leaves emerged for nearly all the trees in the past week.  There is a blanket of tree pollen everywhere we look. and all of the trees have tiny leaves which make up the hazy green of Spring.

Each morning, my backyard is fresh and dewy.  The verdant green makes for a lovely sight when I look outside each morning.  

That’s happy! 

Dogwood Days: May 1

It seems fitting that today’s sunny May 1 is a Tuesday.  In addition to my first of the month hosta check-in, I’m also celebrating my changing dogwood tree.  We have a May Day with lovely blue skies and Spring is taking hold all over the yard.  The dogwood is just a few days away from a splendid display of white flowers.

Each morning in the coming days, as more flowers open and turn from pale green to white,  viewing this tree will be an especially lovely treat.

That’s happy!

Amaryllis Tuesday: April 3

Late last week we reached peak amaryllis, with no less than six flowers on the hardy amaryllis stem.

It was splendid and lovely and remains that way this week. It feels like the showy advance guard for April, a month that often begins stark and chilly but always manages to deliver blooms and lush green grass.  On that note, I’ve begun to document the progress of my backyard dogwood tree which is on its way to making its own splendid flowers for this Spring.  Up close, the potential can be seen in the small, tight buds on the branches.

From further away, the buds aren’t so obvious.  

And in yesterday's snow, it looks even less promising.

But I know that those buds will grow larger and that one morning soon I will wake up to dogwood flowers.  I like that element of Spring, a season that begins quietly and requires careful attention to be seen and in full steam becomes as showy as can be.  For the next few months, Tuesdays will be dogwood days and I will post a picture each week, as I watch the tree and enjoy the arrival of Spring.

Dogwood Wednesday: November 8

This Fall has been rather a quirky season.  After a cool start in September, warm weather settled in as if it planned to stay for a while.  Fall leaves made stately progress toward the inevitable seasonal change.  There are a good deal of leaves to be collected.

 Now that we’ve made the time change, I have the chance to see the dogwood in dim morning light.  Most of the leaves are gone; those that remain are deep red.  

It looks like the mulching mower, my rake, and I have some work to do this weekend.  But that’s the beauty of Fall, a last push of yard chores before a season of still and rest.  I expect to rake, put some bulbs in the ground, breath in the chilly air, and collect some bags of leaves for collection by my town.

I’ll also do plenty of daydreaming about next year’s garden season, because that’s how gardening goes. 

Fall Leaves & the Dogwood Tree

I've been posting pictures of my dogwood tree each Wednesday this fall and got a bit behind this week.  But I made the pictures right on schedule and when I was thinking about the tree, I was reminded of how much I love Fall leaves, always one of the best parts of fall.

We're at the point in the season when the leaves drop everywhere, landing on piles on the sidewalks and grass, making pretty, multi-colored pictures that are everywhere.  All season long, I keep my eyes peeled for leaves with particularly striking colors.  It’s a lovely past time that reminds me to enjoy all the beauty around me.

My dogwood tree encourages all this Fall daydreaming.  My daily admiration of the tree reminds me to stop and enjoy the moment.  

That’s happy! 

Real Life Texts with KO: Vegas edition

The backstory: Something about my sister being in Las Vegas inspires especially amusing text message exchanges.  Last weekend, she was there with her tall offspring for a mega basketball tournament and sent me a picture of a dogwood tree, likely because she knows how I like a dogwood.  Naturally, she sent a thought as well.

KO:  Dogwood in full bloom at the Peppermill. And yes, those are mirrors on the ceiling.

Me:  Somehow that makes me feel dirty.

KO:  I think that’s the idea.

Me:  In which case, well done Vegas.  

KO:  Exactly.

And now you know where to travel for all your tarted up dogwood needs.  Internet, you're welcome.

Dogwood Sunday: Week 2

It’s Easter Sunday and as if not to miss the opportunities that entails, things are in bloom all over my corner of the world.  The dogwood is eager to lead the way.  In the past week, the buds opened and this week’s warm mild weather brought flowers.  

As Spring’s warmth unfolds, the creamy white flowers will open wider and the edges of the flowers will turn a light shade of pink.  I always find that dogwood blooms are one of Spring’s most lovely achievements.  

That’s happy!

Dogwood Sunday: Week One

When I lived in the South, dogwood blooms usually opened by Easter; often in advance of Easter Sunday, and Southerners saw the blooms with the x-shaped color in the center as a symbol of Christ and his rebirth.  In my experience, Southerners often see poetry in the otherwise small details of everyday life and I always found that characteristic charming.  It was in the South that I first learned to appreciate the beauty of seasons and dogwood blooms always jog those memories.  Easter is next week and while there are a handful of dogwood trees in bloom on my daily travels, most aren’t quite there yet.  My dogwood is working toward flowering, but from a distance it retains the stark appearance of Winter.

Up close, the promise of flowers is present in the tight buds.

The week ahead has a forecast for sunshine and warmth; an explosion of blooms and blossoms are on the way.  For the next few weeks, I’ll make a picture of the dogwood each Sunday, and I’ll use the photos to track Spring’s progress.  That’s happy and lovely!

One More Scene of Winter

Last Tuesday’s snow forecast originally called for nearly two feet of snow.  We didn’t receive that much snow, but there were about 10 inches in my corner of the world and that was plenty enough for me.  It was a dense, wet snow packed down by sleet.  JT and I stayed inside until the storm was over.  Outside, one of the squirrels that lives in my yard hunkered down in the dogwood tree.

The backyard squirrels love this tree.  On sunny days, they chase one another up and down its trunk.  But last Tuesday was not a day for playing games.  Squirrels and humans tucked in for the storm, which is likely to be our last storm of the Winter.  Soon enough, the squirrels will scamper around the green lawn.  I’m looking forward to it!

Dogwood Thursday: October 20

Last week we had cool weather.  None of the days had temperatures over 70 and the evenings dropped into the 40s.  My plants came in off the front porch, blankets were added to the beds, windows were shut against the chilly night air.  For its part, the dogwood went to full-on fall foliage.  Nearly all the leaves were showing red by the end of the weekend.

Naturally, warm weather returned this week.  The dogwood seems over-dressed for days in the 80s, but having committed to seasonal change the dogwood is not going back.