We have planted three dogwood trees in our woodlot. They are native to the woodlot – and the old ones were dying.
We planted this one about 35 years ago. Its flowers are a dark pink and smaller than the other two.
The one on our patio was planted 27 years ago – a gift to Cerwin on his 50th birthday.
Its petals are larger and lighter.
The white one was planted 24 years ago in memory of our grandson Elijah who died on May 13, 1994 at the age of five months.
From the Internet: Dogwood trees were first cultivated in 1731 and today grow naturally across several continents, including North America, Europe and Asia.
Their lacy blooms, called bracts, are most commonly white but also come in shades of pink. Prized for the spring blossoms, dogwood trees are among the prettiest trees used in home landscaping.
American Indians used the spring blooms as a sign that it was time to plant the corn. They created cutting tools such as daggers and arrows from its wood. They also made toothbrushes from dogwood. A special tobacco mixture made from the inner bark of the dogwood was used in the sacred pipe by the Potawatomi, Cheyenne, Apache and other tribes.
Dogwood tree wood contains little silica and is denser than many woods. This makes it useful for tools where preventing scratches is important. For this reason, watchmakers used the smallest slivers to clean tiny holes and crevices in their watches. The slivers also were used to clean dust from the spaces surrounding optical lenses. The settlers also used the wood to fashion everyday tools such as crochet hooks and knitting needles, T-squares and rulers, pitchforks and hammers. Even printer’s blocks were made of dogwood.
Thomas Jefferson so loved dogwoods, he planted them extensively in the late 1770s at his home, Monticello, in Virginia. The tree grew in popularity in the state and as a result, the dogwood became its state flower in 1918 and its state tree in 1956. North Carolina made the dogwood its state flower in 1941. In 1955, Missouri honored the dogwood as its state tree, too.