by KYW's Phran Novelli
Trees that put on a show more than once a year keep your garden looking lively, and Cornus florida has something of interest throughout the seasons. Cornus florida are those lovely little native dogwood trees you often see in front yards, covered with flowers in the spring highlighted by pink or white bracts. Their shady green summer leaves are some of the first to change color in the fall - to a deep maroon - and they last for weeks.
Right now, native dogwoods are also decorated with clusters of shiny red berries that hang on into winter, welcoming songbirds from the sky to feast on them and also nourishing squirrels, chipmunks, foxes and other hungry critters. When even the berries are gone, you can appreciate the blocky bark pattern on the trunk against the snow, while you wait for spring and the chance to see our native dogwoods start their show all over again.
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