Perhaps this tardy Cornus kousa in the backyard of the Temporary Garden thinks it’s fashionable to be late? Although every self-respecting dogwood hereabouts — including the similarly-sized one near the driveway here — has already put on its green coat and left the party three weeks ago, this one is just blooming now.
In fact there are still a few unopened buds here and there.
I have no clue why this dogwood is blooming so much later than all the others. It’s in full sun (the side you’re looking at faces due south; the driveway one faces east) and there is nothing unusual or weird about the soil here, as far as I know. I even took a drive around the surrounding area today to check if there were any other C. kousa anywhere near here in bloom right now; nope, they all peaked three weeks ago, as shown in my May 16th post. However, the references claim that the proper bloom time for C. kousa is early June… not the second week in May which is when everyone else’s (plus the driveway dogwood) was in flower. Mother Nature is messing with our heads again!
I photographed these shaded flowers because (a) they were the easiest to shoot down into, and (b) the bright sun reflecting off the others at the same level was giving my camera fits.
Actually it’s rather nice to have had two separate doses of the same dogwood in a single spring!
The Chatsworth Lady 
I would definitely consider a two-dosage of dogwood blooms a nice little gift of nature. Nice!
So beautiful! Absolutely covered with those perfectly simple flowers, I just love it 🙂
There is indeed a lot to say for elegance. 🙂
I envy you your lovely Dogwood. They grow so much better over there than they do here. Yours is gorgeous.
Really?? Wow, honestly I thought almost everything grew better in the UK than here (well, except for in the Pacific Northwest which seems to be the closest approximation to the typical English climate… rain and all… 😉 ).
I love the white dogwoods and I think it’s great that you’ve one that’s a late bloomer….consider it the “second chance draw” of spring 🙂
What a chance to enjoy one of Mother Nature’s little whimsies… 😉 Lovely!
It’s always nice to have a surprise! Glad he hung back for you to enjoy later.
My parents just reminded me I have three small kousa seedlings waiting for me to take them here. Looking at your photo I should really get on the ball and get them going here!
Odd that it’s so late, but like you say nice to get a second dose 🙂
I love this tree, but never ended up having one. I have the wild version and love it.
Perhaps the dogwoods are just trying to keep you happy by prolonging their season of bloom? Very decent of them, I’d say.
Indeed! 🙂 In fact it’s still covered with flowers today, even though the nearby rhododendrons have been and gone already.