White Dogwood © 2010 Bo Mackison
These Dogwood blossoms were dressed in their Sunday best, and showing off their beauty in a tiny landscaped area in front of a century old church. Most everyone was inside the building, dressed in their Sunday morning finery, but I was outside in the warm sunshine, preferring to examine and photograph a bit of nature’s fleeting beauty.
The blossoms were such a soft creamy color and had bits of feathery plum accents on each bract (the part that looks like a petal). I could have looked at the blossoms for hours. See the tiny circular area that almost looks like a tiny eye? Reminds me of the “false eyes” that some butterflies have on their wings as defensive adaptations. And notice how the dogwood blossoms are in layers, facing towards the sun–getting their full share of sunshine? I love that.
These white parts of the dogwood are really a modified type of leaf. The flowers of the dogwood are the little green bits in the center — the flowering head.
This dogwood was photographed in Quincy, Illinois, nicknamed the Dogwood City because it has an unusually large number of both pink and white dogwood trees. There is an annual Dogwood Festival and Parade in the city, held the first weekend in May.
(This festivities for this year are scheduled for April 30 – May 2, but it appears the party will go on without the dogwoods in bloom. Peak will be in 7 to 10 days, I’m thinking.)
About Bo Mackison
While living in Paducah, I always thought Quincy and Paducah had so very much in common. Paducah also celebrated the beauty of the dogwoods with a Dogwood Trail. People would light the flowering dogwoods and azaleas. Stunning to drive the streets of Paducah at night. I can imagine how lovely some of the magnificent old homes in Quincy would be at dogwood time.
Sue, I imagine the dogwoods lit at night would be a special treat!
Exquisite detail. You must be a few weeks ahead of us?? Ours haven’t blossomed quite yet!!!
I was in western Illinois—they are weeks ahead of Wisconsin, too! So lovely–all that green down south!
Beautiful capture of the beautiful white dogwood blossoms!
They sure are pretty, and I love the photograph! That’s special!
Beautiful, Inspiring ! Love your work
You’ve captured the delicacy of this flower very nicely.
Lovely! I love the flowering trees that are blooming now…Dogwoods are just so gentle….
And as for festivals…it does seem like that is the case…Tulip time in Holland, MI…we sometimes call it “tulip stick” time and The Cherry Festival in TC, MI…cherries are shipped in! What is up with that?
I’ve seen these flowers before. Hehe. Very pretty.