Picture of a Dogwood tree flower
Image via Wikipedia

In addition to the Robins in our backyard, another sure sign that spring is here is Knoxville’s annual Dogwood Arts Festival, now beginning it’s 49th year.

Knoxville TN Dogwoods are abloom for the start of Dogwood Arts Festival.

Knoxville TN Dogwoods are abloom for the start of Dogwood Arts Festival.

Best described as a month long celebration of springtime in the Knoxville area, the annual Dogwood Arts Festival offers plenty of excitement and things to do with dance, film, literary arts, music, theater and visual arts.

Events

Exhibits & Shows

According to the Festival website it’s “a celebration of the region’s natural beauty as well as its rich cultural and artistic offerings in all their vast varieties.”

One of my favorite things is tour the many “Dogwood Trails” which are typically residential areas of the city rich in Dogwood blooms and many other spring flowers, shrubs, and trees like the Redbuds pictured below.

Redbud Trees abloom in front of Realty Executives office knoxville tennessee

Redbud Trees blooming in front of Realty Executives office Knoxville Tennessee

These Redbuds are in the office park where my real estate office is located and are typical of Redbuds now blooming all over East Tennessee.

This year several of the trails are offering bicycle tours on selected days. I’m looking forward to pedaling along them in order to enjoy the spectacular scenery at a slower pace.

If you’ve ever taken a close look at a Dogwood blossom like the ones pictured below in my front yard, you’ll notice each blossom has 4 leaves, 2 long and 2 a bit shorter, and at the end of each one there is a red-brownish area.

Look closely at the 'rusty' appearing tips on these Dogwood blossoms

Look closely at the 'rusty' appearing tips on these Dogwood blossoms.

An old legend says that when the Romans built the cross that Jesus was crucified on Dogwood trees then were comparable in size to an Oak tree and other large trees and was used extensively in building materials at the time.

So the legend goes when Jesus was hanging from the cross he sensed that being used for the cross had greatly distressed the tree and said: “Because of your sorrow and pity for My sufferings, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a gibbet. Henceforth it will be slender, bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross — two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints — brown with rust and stained with red — and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember.”

The facts about Dogwood trees now is that they are short and twisted and could not be used for building much of anything. Dogwoods are also an ‘undergrowth’ tree meaning they thrive in the woods below the taller trees. If you plant a Dogwood tree in a yard in full sun they typically max out at around 20 feet high or so but I’ve seen many that are way taller.

knoxville tn real estate jim lee knoxville area realtor.

Our little yellow birdhouse in one of our front yard Dogwoods still has a vacancy.

If you’re in the Knoxville area during any April be sure and enjoy some of the Dogwood Arts Festival events; there is something for everyone from kids to senior citizens.

If you’re in the Knoxville area at anytime looking for a house please give me a call or email and I’ll be delighted to help you find one.

You can do some searching of your own at www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter All of the great Knoxville area Realtor listings are included plus information on area schools, mortgage information, and other information for home buyers and sellers.

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