I enjoy nature walks, but living close to a city, I don’t have many opportunities to take them. Arboretums can give you a chance to get a taste of nature, without having to take a long drive out of town. On a recent trip in April, we visited the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden in Nacogdoches, Texas. We probably missed the peak spring blooming cycle by a week or two, but there was still lots to see.

One of the unique ornamental trees we saw was the Mexican Dogwood.  Originally from eastern Mexico, it  is a subspecies of our native common flowering dogwood and I’ve read it is quite rare in the United States. Typically, it is only found in botanical gardens and arboreta, so I feel fortunate to have caught it blooming. The tree is covered with these small, white ornamental flowers and is quite beautiful.
 

One of the unique ornamental trees we saw was the Mexican Dogwood. The tree is covered with these small, white ornamental flowers and is quite beautiful. Photo by Tim Stanley Photography.