This particular Evergreen Dogwood lives across the street in my friend Jess’ yard where it remained a secret for a number of years. I wasn’t aware of its presence until a few months ago. On a warm, sunny Tuesday when my good friend Brad showed up to service my lawn, I noticed him in Jess’ yard with his camera. He was photographing a tree about 8 feet tall that was growing behind some shrubs a couple of feet away from the front of Jess’ home.
In all the years I’ve known Brad, I’ve never known him to take photographs of anything. In fact, I didn’t know he owned a camera. I was so curious that I rushed across the street to see what was so important to him.
The Evergreen Dogwood Tree
This is when Brad introduced me to his prized tree – the Evergreen Dogwood tree. He told me it was the first one he’d ever seen and that he had been pruning and caring for it for the past five years to make sure it survived and got the sun it needed to thrive. He was so proud of its height.
I was surprised when Brad told me this type of tree was relatively rare in America. I knew Brad was telling the truth as he spent his youth on a farm in the Midwest and knows more about plants and trees than just about anyone. He has his own lawn service and cares for all his clients’ yards as though they were his own. He loves trees and knows most of them.
The very next time I saw Jess I informed her about the prized tree growing in her front yard. After all these years, she wasn’t aware that it was a special tree. All her prior lawn care guys had simply ignored it. Now she was equally proud to have it in her yard.
After talking to Brad about the Evergreen Dogwood tree, I did some Internet searching to learn more about this wonderful tree.
Apparently, this small tree from China was introduced in the United States in 1980 by Dr. Ted Dudley of the U.S. National Arboretum. It’s also known as Cornus Capitata. In the early summer white to creamy-yellow flowers appear throughout its canopy. But it saves the best for the fall season when these flowers become reddish fruit that look a lot like strawberries. Not only are they a sight to behold, the birds love feasting on them.
The other day I was asking my friend Brad if he had other customers who had these trees in their yards. I was delighted to learn that he had found one nursery in the greater Sacramento area that carried them. He told me he bought their entire inventory and planted four of them in one customer’s yard and one in another yard.
Knowing their apparent scarcity, I inquired about the price. According to Brad, they were on sale for about $40 each. This seems expensive for small starter trees but to Brad it was the bargain of the year.
Now that I’m aware of the Evergreen Dogwood in Jess’ front yard, I pay careful attention to it every day. It’s like having a celebrity living on the block.
If you’re looking for wonderful, ornamental trees for your front yard, see if you can find a nursery that carries the Evergreen Dogwood tree and buy a couple for your front yard.
thnx bro
your good
sweet and juicy, delicious and yummy dummy. you can probably buy some at china town but they are not fresh though, its been frozen and they are expensive. if you ever get a chance travel to southern china (Canton) like in late June-July you can buy them everywhere.