Saturday, April 3, 2010

Green Thumb Gardening Day


Welcome to

Green Thumb Gardening Day

here at The Blessed Nest!

Today in honor of Easter I thought I'd share about one of my favorite trees in the garden:

The Dogwood Tree


The Dogwood is a lovely Spring-flowering tree!

It is said to be a symbol of Easter because the petals form the shape of a cross, the outer edge of each petal shows the nail hole brown with rust and stained with red, and the center is a reminder of the crown of thorns so that all who see it will remember.

The Flowering Dogwood Tree (cornus florida -- the latin name) is much loved for the beautiful displays of Spring flowers. Technically what we think of as the "flower petals" are actually bracts, while the tiny interior greenish-yellowish center is actually the flower!

The Flowering Dogwood is beautiful in all seasons though, with lovely flowers of either white or pink decorating the tree in Springtime, to the green leaves of Summer, reddish leaves and red fruits for the wildlife appear to give extra color in Autumn and into Winter, while the shape of the twisted branches and pretty form of the tree also gives Winter interest.

This tree is also wonderful for attracting wildlife to your yard, like birds! Birds and squirrels love to eat the red "fruit" in the fall & winter!

The Dogwood grows best in Hardiness Zones 5-9, with full sun in the Northern areas and partial sun in the hotter South.


I pray that everyone has a very
Happy Easter!!!!!


Now, it's time to link up and share YOUR:
Gardening Photos, Easter bouquets, Kids at A Backyard Egg Hunt, Front Door Pots, Tiny Green Shoots Coming Up in the Garden, Inspiration Photos, Plans, & Daydreams, etc.....






8 comments:

Debra@CommonGround said...

Hi Stacey, you inspired me today to show my lovely tulips for Easter. Thank you for the party, it's just what I needed. Have a blessed Easter,
Debra

Unknown said...

The dogwood is beautiful. I don't have a link to share today but I am planning to take more photos of my garden to share later. We're still at the messy garden time of year here.
Happy Easter!

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

I love dogwoods! :) I wish I had some in my yard. We had plenty of them when I was growing up.

Prior said...

I love dogwood! Lezlee

myletterstoemily said...

i love dogwoods! enjoy!

He is risen!

Michelle, All Home and Love said...

Happy Easter to you!

I love Dogwoods but unfortunately they don't seem to thrive in our area. In our first home we had one that looked like it was on its last leg but I couldn't cut it down as it still flowered. They really are beautiful.

~Michelle

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Happy Easter, Stacy! Love your guestroom makeover you shared, it's so pretty.

Seizing My Day said...

Beautiful pictures! I love the analogy with the cross... now... even though it I have allergies to it... I will love it a little bit more! =)