Spring Salutations from Southern Indiana, Part III

I'll let you in on a poorly kept secret: the two or so weeks when the vibrant redbuds and the white dogwoods bloom constitute my favorite time of the year. And as the two native trees prefer to grow in similar situations (both are understory trees, often found at the edge of wooded areas), they can usually be found growing side by side. And isn't that a beautiful sight, with the purple blooms of the redbuds being set off by the white of the dogwoods?).

The redbuds bloom first, but wait patiently for the white dogwoods to appear.

Oh, and by the way? I really don't recommend trying to drive while taking pictures at the same time. Just do as I say and not as I do.

I need to stop one day and get a better picture of this, but as my daughter and I were on our way to see my new grandson, this was not the day. At any rate, some inconsiderate person insists upon parking their truck right smack dab in the middle of what would be the perfect picture. Idiot.

Thankfully, my dear daughter took these pictures as I concentrated on driving.

And now we are back home. My Canada Red Chokeberries are blooming. I just wish you could smell these blooms.

My old fashioned bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis) are blooming. Just ignore the dandelion.

This is my neighbor's redbud and my favorite barn behind us. I keep planning on planting a couple of redbuds in our own 'back forty', but still haven't gotten around to it.

A true Murphy's Law (gardener's version) story: the previous owners of our house had a redbud planted by our front porch. So I planted a white dogwood to complement it. And the very next year the redbud died. It turns out we have verticillium wilt in our soil and that killed the redbud. Unfortunately, it is also killing one of my Canada Red Chokeberries. And there is nothing I can do about it, except to research suitable, resistant trees.

My white dogwood is blooming next to two fothergilla gardenii bushes. The pink dogwood, which was planted to replace the dead redbud, is in the background.

Enjoy the blooms of this Canada Red Chokeberry, as this is the tree that is infected with verticillium wilt. The question is how many more months or years does this 30 foot tall tree have left? On a brighter note, again I will ask you to remember this image of this tree as I have a surprise in store for you in a few weeks.

My Iberis (candytuft) is blooming now. I planted three plants nine years ago and they have gone to town. Iberis is an evergreen perennial that acts as a groundcover and it blooms in late April to early May.

The fothergilla gardenii are blooming. These bushes are equally beautiful in the fall when the leaves turn orange and yellow.

Cornus florida 'alba' (white flowering dogwood). Now remember, the white "petals" are not part of the flowers. Those "petals" are actually bracts, with the small green nubs in the center being the true flowers.


My pink dogwood in bloom, with iberis carpeting the ground below.