Dogwood

This weekend I planted a small dogwood tree in our backyard in western Massachusetts, and thought of my mother, who loved flowering dogwood trees.  She grew up with them in CT, and later (1940's) transplanted a few young dogwood trees to the home in Danvers where I grew up. Those trees grew too, beautifying our yard. 

My new dogwood is only 4 feet tall. I hope it survives the transplanting (from a native plants nursery) and grows well. (I know that my timing is late for a spring planting; I'll water it well and watch it closely.) I look forward to its white blossoms in future springs. 

I have many memories of early May trips with my mother to see again the towering dogwoods that shaded roads in her former hometown of Westport, CT.  Pink ones and white ones arched high over the roads, with alternating patches of pink and white.  Stunning!   My mother's birthday (May 5) coincided with the peak of the blooming season for those dogwoods, so we often made that trip on or around her birthday.