I know that many of us Thomasville/Thomas County folk puff out our chests with pride regarding the beauty of our home in relation to the thousands of our rose bushes that are preparing to bloom in the next month or so, and rightfully so. But I’ve always felt that the particular time of the year we are in right now is always the most beautiful, with all of the azaleas in bloom in combination with all of the other early spring flowers.

One of the highlights among all of those blooms has always been the simple beauty of the countless dogwood trees that not only have adorned many of the yards around our homes but also have flourished throughout our local woods. The crisp white of the dogwood flower has always been a perfect contrast to the bright splashes of color the different types of azaleas bring to the floral color palette.

In fact, for many of my years living here in Thomas County, this was the very time of the year I would hop in my vehicle and just ride through as many local neighborhoods as possible to enjoy the explosion of hues that were our early spring flowers — with the dogwoods being a major part of that overall experience. Those white flowers were literally everywhere.

Heck, the dogwood flower is even symbolically carved into the woodwork of Pebble Hill and other local landmarks. Its elegant beauty is a part of who and what we are.

But in the last few years, it seems fewer and fewer of our dogwoods are even alive, much less thriving. So the question is simple: where have all of our dogwoods gone?

To be sure, this isn’t just a local issue. For those who haven’t noticed, since about 2000 we have seen a steady decline of our dogwoods all over the South. I’ve heard many people talk about a “blight” that has taken out many of the trees. And while it is true there is a fungus that has negatively affected dogwoods in the southern Appalachian mountains and along the east coast in general, research seems to show that our summers are too hot here for that fungus to survive here in our community.

Of course, every tree and plant species has bugs or something natural that are always a threat. And things like running into them with lawn mowers and such are always an issue that can cause a tree to decline.

But those elements are nothing new, and dogwoods were doing well everywhere around here while those elements and many others were in play. 

So what could be at the heart of the decline of the dogwood? In some ways, the changes we’ve seen in our weather very well may be the root of the issue.

Over the last 20 or so years, our summers have been hotter, our rain has come more in big bunches instead of being spread out over an extended period of time, and the dry spells that we always seem to be facing have progressively grown longer and more intense. The combination of the three have added stress to all of our flora, but it appears that the dogwood has been particularly susceptible to the cumulative negative impacts involved. 

Add into the mix that the average lifespan of a dogwood is naturally only around 40 or so years, and you get a lethal recipe that has spelled the demise of a vast majority of our beautiful dogwoods locally in the last few decades.

Another factor that has definitely come into play with the decline of the dogwoods is that many people and neighborhoods have not replaced those dogwoods that die, instead turning increasingly to crepe myrtles due to their ease of care and hardiness. So instead of planting a new dogwood to replace one that had lived out its life, people are planting other options.

So where does all of that leave our beloved dogwood? Well, there is good news to report. Botanists have now developed a hybrid dogwood that seems to be quite disease resistant and much tougher overall. And, through those efforts, not only have several traditional white varieties been developed, but also a couple of stunning pink (and even red) versions are now available that bring a whole new twist to the dogwood’s place at the table.

I know we are the Rose City, and pridefully so, but I really hope that our city and county will make a sincere effort to re-embrace the dogwood as a part of our future beautification efforts from here on out. Thanks to these new trees, there are definitely ways now in place to be able to bring it back to at least some reflection of its former glory here.

And trust me, those of us who have been here for a year or fifty know perfectly well just how stunning our hometown can be with dogwoods in the mix as we’ve seen it with our own two eyes. And I can just about guarantee that those memories of just how beautiful Thomasville was with those snow-white flowers everywhere wonderfully and beautifully mixed with all of the other spring colors is something none of us will ever forget. 

But, might I add, hopefully something we will all be able to see and enjoy again soon.