A few nights in the mid-twenties (Fahrenheit) ended the ten days of flowering of the two early magnolias, ‘Merrill’ and ‘Royal Star’. A fraction of the blooms remain, and fortunately, the cold was not severe enough to turn the flowers to unsightly brown mush.

Along the driveway, ‘Jane’ (above) begins flowering a week later, so its first flowers experienced only slight cold damage. In its shadow, two redbuds are beginning to flower.

Again, I am concerned that a variegated sport of the yellow-leafed ‘Rising Sun’ (Cercis canadensis ‘Rising Sun’) is declining. It was dug from a nursery field in the North Carolina mountains where all ‘Rising Sun’ redbuds were lost to vascular streak dieback. This tree has lived long enough that I’ve gained confidence for its survival, but today it has few flowers So of course, I’m concerned. The redbud is shaded more than others, so possibly there will be more to come. I’m doubting this, but I’ll soon know.

While all redbuds are delightful in flower, the colorful foliage of many cultivars is the reason I’ve increased my collection. With another acre or two I’d happily add several more.

The two pale yellow flowered magnolias, ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Yellowbird’, are again disappointments. Flowers of ‘Yellowbird’ have been damaged just as they opened, while ‘Elizabeth’ flowered beautifully for a day or two before the flowers faded after nights falling into the mid-twenties (Fahrenheit).

The dogwood (Cornus florida, above) in the front garden has unexpectedly flowered early, this time with dogwoods in the neighborhood instead of a week later. This dogwood showed signs of decline a year ago, and I decided not to prune out several dead branches figuring the decline would continue. Early signs are that the tree is in overall good health, so it’s likely that I’ll prune the dead branches after the leaves come out.

The native dogwood lives a difficult life. It is subject to cankers, mildew, and black spotting of leaves, and this dogwood has regularly experienced the worst of these maladies. I’ve long expected it to perish, but happily not yet, it seems.