Cherokee Princess

Here in southwestern Connecticut, the flowering dogwoods are in bloom.

Once a familiar sight in our landscapes, Cornus florida,  also known as common dogwood, is frequently being passed over by many homeowners looking for a flowering tree for their gardens. Too common? Perhaps. Victim of some bad press? Possibly. Under-appreciated? Definitely.

Part of the reason for this trend is the fear of planting a tree that may succumb to a known landscape disease, dogwood anthracnose. While dogwood anthracnose is a real threat, there are many simple things you can do to ensure your dogwood remains healthy – a key to fighting most landscape diseases.

For habitat gardeners, a flowering dogwood should be an indispensable part of their gardens. These small understory trees support an amazing array of wildlife - the red fall berries are a favorite of  songbirds and small mammals and the leaves are used by spring azure butterflies as a larval host plant.

To find out more about this under rated gem, I invite you to visit Native Plants & Wildlife Gardens and read my latest post, Flowering Dogwood ~ An Underappreciated Beauty.