Meet my pet tree

Growing up in Virginia gave me a love for the dogwood tree. How could it not? The dogwood is both Virginia's state tree and state flower, and it grows literally everywhere across the state, filling the roadside woods in the spring with its delicate white blossoms.

Moving to Florida (where these is only one season) for five years made me appreciate dogwoods all the more. During our first trip back to Virginia in the spring after moving to Florida, it was a wonder that I did not drive my family off the road as I craned my neck for a sight of every blooming dogwood the state had to offer. I felt like Robert E. Lee, who remarked upon returning to Virginia in 1840: "I felt so elated when I found myself in the ancient Dominion that I nodded to all the trees I passed."

Now here we are in Georgia, where I am blessed to have 10 or more dogwoods on my property. And I have come to appreciate many other flowering trees. Spring comes in waves here. First there is the Bradford pear wave, then the dogwood wave, then the redbud wave.

Last fall, I put in a new pink dogwood and a redbud for spring color. But I also added a red maple and a ginkgo for fall foliage. I was especially interested in the ginkgo after reading about it. It boasts small, delicate leaves that turn a wonderful yellow in the fall. As I understand it, the leaves then all drop at once. As of today, the leaves are still in place--I'll let you know if they drop as advertised.

That's a photo of my ginkgo above, in its youthful fall glory. Praise be the Creator of such beauty.

GtG