Japanese gardens are popular for many reasons ... although there are many native dogwood trees in the US too. Its beautiful ...

I recently visited the accident site in Koka, Shiga Prefecture. A "yamaboshi" Japanese dogwood tree, planted by the victims' bereaved families on the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, was in full leaf.

There is an Eastern dogwood tree (Cornus florida) — so-called since it is native to the Eastern US — at the end of my block, which I check on each spring to see if it’s flowering.