Virginia

The Story Behind the Flowering Dogwood

Virginia’s state flower isn’t technically a flower at all. It’s a tree. Every spring, the flowering dogwood covers Virginia with soft white blooms that seem to glow against the green forests and rolling hills. You’ll find them lining roadsides, tucked into wooded trails, and blooming outside historic homes all across the state. It’s one of those trees that feels completely tied to Virginia. And for at least one famous Virginian, it was a favorite.

This short video shares how the flowering dogwood became the state flower of Virginia and the close vote that almost changed everything.

Flowering Dogwood

Cornus florida

The flowering dogwood grows throughout Virginia’s forests and landscapes, blooming each spring with delicate white or pale pink bracts surrounding tiny flowers at the center.

A few things that make it special:

Native to the eastern United States
Blooms in early spring
Found in forests, hillsides, and neighborhoods
Known for its layered white blossoms and red berries

Dogwoods thrive beneath taller trees, making them especially beautiful along woodland edges and forest trails.

In spring, they become one of the most recognizable signs that winter is finally over.

Why It Became the State Flower

Virginia officially adopted the flowering dogwood as its state flower in 1918.

At the time, many garden clubs and horticultural groups across the state strongly supported the dogwood because it grew naturally throughout Virginia and had become deeply connected to the state’s identity.

One of its biggest admirers was Thomas Jefferson, who planted dogwoods at Monticello and often wrote about his appreciation for native plants and trees.

But the final decision was closer than most people realize.

Another legislator proposed the Virginia creeper — a fast-growing vine known for turning brilliant shades of red in the fall — as the state flower instead.

In the end, the flowering dogwood won by just one vote.

And for more than a century since, it has remained one of Virginia’s most recognizable symbols.

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