Q: Can you tell me when the dogwoods will be blooming in Atlanta? I have friends who want to come when they are at their height.

A: My retired Extension friend Newton Hogg has forgotten more information about plants than I will ever know. One of the ways he stays so current is to make notes about garden phenomena each year.

He has kept records of the dogwood flowers in his Decatur landscape since 1982. When I asked, it was a simple matter for him to find that his dogwoods began opening on March 20, 1982 and were pretty well finished two weeks later.

Studying his notes for every year since then, Newton came to the conclusion that somewhere between April 5 and April 15 you should have a dogwood display worthy of showing to your friends.

I think you’d be safe to invite folks to visit for the weekend of April 8 – 10. If you are lucky, the azaleas will be blooming at the same time and you’ll knock their blooming socks off!