Dogwoods take center stage

This week the dogwood moves to center stage. Every week a new flower bursts into bloom and dominates my garden but is eclipsed each week by the next plant to burst into color in all its glory. What a great time to be a gardener. I have two white dogwoods that I bought bare root 25 years ago and are understory trees. The only pink dogwood that I have is in mostly sun and this is the best it has ever looked. (Double click any pic to enlarge)

Last year the crabapple was stunning--this year is an off year. It is about 25 years old so it may be taking a break but I did catch a few blossoms in the evening sunlight today which gives the white petals a creamy cast.

This is the last cherry to bloom in my garden and follows the others by a couple of weeks.

As you can see the Kerria had considerable winter die back this year but it is still blooming profusely.

A common shrub in shady areas in my neighborhood is Acuba. It wasn't until recently that I realized that there were male and female cultivars. This is a male in bloom since it never produces berries though a companion plant does.

I was happy to see the Lily's of the Valley emerging. They are not invasive in my garden and they never form the dense mat that I've seen in northern gardens.

A couple of new daffodils have opened this week and the creeping phlox in the backyard is now blooming.

The next photo is of a ground cover that I do not recall blooming in the past. The flowers are very small and delicate.

This woodland rhododendron is a beauty and so full of blooms this year.

Several months ago I planted packaged tulips that were supposed to bloom in sequence: early, mid and late. Here is a photo of all three--the early is fading, mid is full and the late is just showing color. This is the best succession bloom I have ever had. I will order tulips from these folks again.