Growing up in Fairfield Connecticut a.k.a. The Dogwood Capital of the World was a wonderful time of my life. There were years when I can remember the twisting roads were canopied in a tunnel of the pink & white blossoms and Springtime meant the anticipated Dogwood Bazaar was near. Long bicycle rides to and from the beach meant finding back roads to avoid the very steep Burr Street and thus I found my dogwoods.
Many of the older trees are gone now but the newly planted ones are making great progress towards keeping the moniker "capital of the world" intact! The Flowering Dogwood known as Cornus florida has had some rough years as disease has taken its toll. You can see here the young and the old!
An early blossom photo taken in my present neighborhood is slightly behind the blossoms of Fairfield. You can see the "petals" unfolding from around the "flowers". The large white, pink or red "petals" are actually called bracts...and the flowers which produce seeds come Fall are mounded in the middle within a tight cluster.
This is the cluster of dogwood "flowers" fully open. To me, it is flower within a flower. (photo thanks to wikipedia) Like a play within a play or a self portrait within a self portrait...you get the picture?
Now that we understand this beauty (not that it needed to be understood) I can just share a few of my photos in honor of Earth Day!
Happy Earth Day! I hope everyone got out there, rain or shine and celebrated something to do with Our Earth.
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