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Apart of Erica Catherine's US State Flower Collection, the Flowering Dogwood represents both the State of North Carolina and Virginia. The white flowers are shown on top of a pink color background. Inspired by the natural and antique details that call to Erica's Old soul, she aims to bring that special spirit to all of her designs. Each drawing is created by hand using a mixture of graphite drawing with watercolor layering over the top to create the ethereal and vintage inspired work that harks back to turn of the century botanical illustration.
The Flowering Dogwood was adopted as the state flower of North Carolina in 1916. The Dogwood is one of the most common trees in North Carolina, spreading from the mountains to the coast. Prized across the state the Dogwood has five festivals that celebrate it! The "petals" of the flowering dogwood actually aren't the flowers at all. Rather the true flowers are the small centers seen inside the white bracts. The large blooms makes the flowers more appealing to pollinator.! The flowers bloom in spring time and turn hills and mountainside across the state in a snow white showcase. The blooms continue through to summer and will begin to drop flowers as the weather changes. In the fall after the flowers have been pollinated the white "petals" fall to the ground and the small yellow blooms turn into red berries. A favorite snack among the local bird population the red berries will be eaten.
The Flowering Dogwood was adopted as the state flower of Virginia in 1918. The flowering dogwood was selected as the state flower due to its connection to the founding father, Thomas Jefferson. Among his Virginia estate of Monticello you can find many Dogwood trees lining the grounds in the 1700s.
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