It is that time of year again. Time to start watching the
weather and predicting when we will see blooms. It is time for the Official
Dogwood Bloom Watch!
Photo by: Rhonda Redden, 2012
The Dogwood Trails Celebration has been a 75-year tradition
for Palestine, Texas. Last year, the Dogwood Trails Celebration was the last
two weekends in March and the first weekend of April. This year, due to changes
in blooming patterns, the Celebration will be the last three weekends in March
to ensure that you come to visit during peak blooming season.
Last year was a rough year for the Dogwood Trails. We did
not have as many dogwoods blooming in Davey Dogwood Park and in the Palestine area as we
normally have. The drought that happened the summer of 2011 had an extreme
effect on the dogwood trees and blooms in 2012. The drought did cause some of
the dogwoods in the Palestine to die and for some to go dormant and
shed their leaves in order to save themselves from the drought, which threw off
the dogwood trees blooming schedule. On top of that, a storm came through two days before the start of the Celebration and many petals of the flowers that did
bloom were knocked to the ground.
This year, we have reason to hope for a good year. Although
we are still not sure about how many dogwood trees died from the drought in
2011, we have had plenty of good, cold rain which are perfect conditions to
prepare the dogwoods to blooms. We will have better insight about how many
dogwoods will actually bloom in mid-February when the dogwood trees start to
develop buds.
We are counting down from 75 days starting today until the
end of the Dogwood Trails Celebration. To start off the countdown for the
Celebration the City of Palestine and the Palestine Area Chamber of Commerce,
along with Palestine area businesses, are doing “75 Days of Giveaways.”
Starting today, Thursday, January 17, 2013 through the end of the Dogwood
Trails Celebration on Sunday, March 31, 2013 we will give away an item a day to
anyone near and far who shares our statuses about the Dogwood Trails. Giveaways
range from coffee mugs to hotel stays to diamonds, so be sure to like us at www.facebook.com/dogwoodtrails
to learn the rules and check back for what items are up for grabs!
For more information on the Dogwood Trails Celebration visit
www.TexasDogwoodTrails.com.
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