Our Beloved Dogwood Tree - Blooming Right on Schedule for Our Nature Study

Our Dogwood Study with the Handbook of Nature Study
(It is not too late to join us if you still have a dogwood blooming in your neighborhood.)

Funny how we all have had our favorite spring Outdoor Hour Challenges. For me? This dogwood study has been about two years in the making. I have always wanted to have a dogwood tree in our front yard but it wasn't until we did our massive front yard remodel that I was able to find a dedicated spot for the dogwood tree. We choose one with white blossoms...my favorite.

You can see our front yard transformation here in this post: Removing the Lawn.


We waited last year for it to flower but we only had leaves. This year....ta da! A dozen or so creamy white blossoms to enjoy and now study.


We read in the Handbook of Nature Study about how the flowers have been waiting inside the bracts all winter long, protected and sheltered until conditions were right. I have spent the last month or so going out almost daily to check the branches for any signs of opening. What a gift once we saw the bracts changing!

See the notched bract? This is another thing discussed in the Handbook of Nature Study that I would have never noticed if it wasn't pointed out to me. 


I had to convince Mr. B that the true flowers are the ones at the center and not the big white bracts. We counted the flowers and found there were 25+, some open and some closed.

Notebook Page for More Nature Study Book #3

The Handbook of Nature Study said that this was a perfect lesson to use a hand lens for so we brought ours out and took a deeper look. Amazing! If you haven't yet done your dogwood study, I highly recommend this activity. You might note it in your ebook to do for next year as well if your dogwoods are no longer blooming.


How fun is this? Don't the leaves look like a bird? I was busy standing on top of my retaining wall to take photos of the dogwood and looking down on the leaves....it truly looked like a bird!


Now for a few fun images from our evening study. Here is a colorful view of our front yard right now....hubby brought me home a new garden flag for the front stairs. I love it! We did have a swallowtail in the yard a few days ago so it won't be long now until butterfly time! The Kona dog is taking a rest from helping us weed and water.


I don't think I shared my new addition to the rock garden. We took a new hike up into the mountains and into an area where you can collect rocks, a true rockhounds paradise. We brought home this big piece of serpentine which is the California State Rock. Isn't an amazing shade of green? Our rock garden has become its own little micro-habitat with insects and critters living around and under the rocks. In the evenings there is a very loud cricket chorus in our yard. It is a comforting sound and I stand on the deck and listen in the dark and imagine where they all are as they sing.


What a wonderful study! It all started back when we decided to remodel the front yard a few years ago and we put on paper our list of plants and trees we hoped to include. The dogwood came two years ago and this past week we added a California redbud. I am looking forward to seeing it grow and mature...maybe next year it will bloom for us.

I invite you to take a closer look at your dogwood using the Handbook of Nature Study!




Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

OHC More Nature Study Book 3 - Dogwood Study

More Nature Study Book 3
Dogwood Study

“But when spring comes, these bud scales change their duties, and by rapid growth become four beautiful white or pinkish bracts which we call the dogwood flower.”
Handbook of Nature Study 

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read pages 680-682 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 188). Read through the lesson for suggested observations for your outdoor time.
• View this video for more information: Briar Patch: The Dogwood Tree. You may also like to view these pages: Pacific Dogwood (western U.S.) and Flowering Dogwood (eastern U.S.) 

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Enjoy your outdoor time for this challenge looking for blooming trees. Spend a few minutes observing the colors of the blooms and look for any insect visitors. If appropriate, gather a leaf and a blossom to sketch in your nature journal. 
•  This is the perfect time to begin a year-long tree study. For ideas on how to get started, see this entry: Year-Long Tree Study. 
• If you have a dogwood to view up close, use a few of the lesson ideas to make careful observations. Look at the bark, the flowers, and the arrangement of the flowers on the branches. 
• Advanced study: Bring along your sketching supplies and sketch or watercolor the bracts and flowers. 

Follow-Up Activity:

• Take a few minutes to sketch your tree, the flower, the leaf, the bark, or fruit of your tree. You can use this website’s images as a reference for your drawing: Identifying Dogwood Trees (They call the bracts “petals” but otherwise this is a very good page.) Ebook Users: There is a notebook page and two coloring pages included in the ebook for your dogwood study. There is also a notebook page for any flowering tree. 
• Advanced study: Complete a nature journal entry for your dogwood or other blooming tree. Ebook users: There is a notebook page to complete using a field guide or the internet. 
• Advanced study: Find out what hardiness zone you live in: National Gardening Association. Read the list of trees that grow in your hardiness zone: TreeLink. Pick a tree from your zone list and do additional research. Record your findings in your nature journal. 

Additional links:

• Clare Walker Leslie’s Guide to Sketching Trees –Excellent printable resource 
• Find out when Arbor Day is in your state: Arbor Day Foundation 
• Other Blooming Tree Ideas: Spring Blooming Trees 

Don't forget to share your Spring Splendor Walk blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. All entries done in April are eligible for the next edition. The deadline for entries is 4/29/12 and you can send them directly to me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.