THE LAST TREE IN BLOOM: WHITE DOGWOOD

This year, because almost everything was two to three weeks late and while we were away for three weeks, we missed seeing most of our flowering trees in bloom. The majority of dogwood and all the crabapples basically flowered and spent themselves while we were gone, so I have no photos of this year's display except for the Last Tree in Bloom.

This one tree, however, is always the last to blossom. It is a pure white dogwood (cornus alba)which began life as a 4" sprout I received as a bonus in the mail from a tree company back when I was doing bonsai. I potted it, but somewhere in the process it was allowed to revert to normal size and ended up planted in the yard next to the tool shed. It is always a joy to see in full display.

More than in most years, the density of individual flowers this season is especially solid on every branch. No space reveals the green of the leaves below the solid clusters. This is true throughout the tree this year. The individual flowers are a deep, pure, velvety white, making the whole tree most outstanding in full sunlight. It's the last tree to present its stunning display each year, and makes a stunning climax to the annual show. When I learn to do starts from this jewel, I'll be glad to share with some of you.