Hope for Spring: Dogwood Trail Signs Appear

Spring is oh so close and Dogwood Trail signs around town are proof! Snow mounds are melting in the rain and temps above freezing, even overnights, are in the forecast. Perrenials are coming up and will be blooming before we know it. Daffodils are up 4 and 5 inches in some places.  



City of Paducah employees have placed Paducah's 51st Dogwood Trail signs along the popular spring route. Some of the lighted trail will bypass its original route due to ongoing infrastructure work and sections of closed streets. Members of the Civic Beautification Board made note of trees last year that were well lighted within viewing distance of the main trail, and this year, some of those homes/trees are on the trail. 



Dabney Haugh, CBB chairman, says, "The lighted part of the trail will lead viewers along Jefferson and weaves through neighborhoods on the West End of Paducah and Whitehaven. The historic section of the trail will go through downtown, by City Hall and Dolly McNutt Plaza, along the floodwall murals and back to Jefferson." 



Paducah's Dogwood Trail attracts visitors from far and near. It officially starts when the pink and white Dogwood blossoms pop open and lasts as long as the trees bloom. That's usually in mid-April or as early as Easter weekend (April 5). We say "usually" because they've bloomed as early as mid-March and as late as the end of April. Predicting what week that will happen is a challenge each year. The cold weather we've experienced the past two months doesn't necessarily delay the blooming. How warm the temps get and "stay" will determine when they burst open. The good news is "They will bloom," says Haugh, "and then we will officially celebrate the end of winter and the arrival of spring in Paducah."  

 

This year's Dogwood Traill chairman and CBB member Mary Lynn Thompson, is organizing the annual Dogwood Tree sale at local nurseries this spring. The sale has become a popular project that supports planting hundreds of new dogwoods each year. Nurseries donate a dollar for each tree sold to buy more dogwoods to be planted in the Children's Memorial Garden in Noble Park. Details of the sale will be shared later this month.