Native to the eastern and central United States and Canada, Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) is in bloom right now.

As I approach the tall bushes I can hear them as I get near. A very loud buzzing. The creamy white flowers have all sorts of insects collecting pollen.

A few days ago I mentioned these buzzing bushes to a friend who raises Honey Bees, since many of the insects I see are indeed Honey Bees. She asked me if the blooms are fragrant. I hadn’t even noticed but this afternoon I checked it out. Bad news, they do have an aroma but it’s not nice. I looked it up on the Internet to see what other people think and I see others do agree – “musky skunk”, “somewhat musky”, and “considered unpleasant by many people”. I didn’t see any positive description.

Oh well, the buzzing is mighty fascinating!

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