Dogwood Arts is ready for its 67th year of celebration. Literally hundreds of volunteers and property owners along the trails have built the festival legacy, but the real stars are the trees, the flowers and the gardens. Knoxville has 13 dogwood trails – 90 miles of flowering beauty, each marked with signage and pink road paint.
The Dempster Francis house stands at the corner of Gibbs Drive and Broadway
The kickoff is Wednesday, March 29, from 5-7 p.m. at the entrance of Historic Gibbs Drive in Fountain City. The road will be blocked from Broadway to Stanton Drive with live music, food trucks, activities for kids and more.
Three North Knox trails are featured this year: North Hills, Fountain City and Halls/Timberline. Trails and gardens will be open April 1-30.
North Hills is a charming historical neighborhood, with dogwood trees and a wonderful mix of unique classic homes. As a Level 1 Arboretum, a great diversity of trees is exhibited; at last count, 400 trees including 200 flowering dogwoods. The trail begins at 1999 North Hills Blvd. and extends 2.8 miles.
The original 185-acre tract was developed by George, Carl and Hugh Fielden into approximately 250 residential lots for custom-built homes. By 1928, 43 homes were built and restrictive covenants were established to protect the area characteristics. Most of the homes include brick, marble, stucco and other Tennessee native stone in their construction.
The North Hills Garden Club was established in 1932 and remains an active partner in the neighborhood.
In 2008, about 130 homes and 50 acres along the three boulevards were designated a historic district in the National Register of Historic Places.
Open Gardens:
- Lloyd Ronnie King, 1629 North Hills Blvd.
- Robert Claytor, 3033 Fountain Park Blvd.
Camera Sites:
- Michael Peters & Stuart Mitchell. 2969 Kenilworth Lane
- Roy & Sally Wilcox, 3008 Fountain Park Blvd.
- Stephanie & Art Clancy III, 1816 N Hills Blvd.
- Steve & Eleanor Kilpatrick, 1927 N Hills Blvd.
Fountain City has historic neighborhoods with both east and west trails; features outstanding open gardens.
Fountain City East – Garden Side – 5.5 miles, established in 1957. Trail begins at 2800 Gibbs Dr. and continues to Harrill Hills, which dates back to the early 1920s. Streets include Garden Drive, Dogwood, Crestwood and Briarcliff. The trail climbs halfway up the steep side of Black Oak Ridge to enter Beverly Acres, where handsome houses blend into their forest setting and acid-loving azaleas flourish in the rich woodland loam.
Open Gardens:
- Bill & Ginger Baxter, 3901 Sam Cooper Road. Nine beautiful gardens including the Azalea Garden with over 500 azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias and mountain laurel under an expansive pine canopy. The Dogwood Ramble blooms with over 300 dogwood trees of 30-plus varieties. Enter the Asian Garden through a large bamboo gate to the Lotus Pond and a columnar yew maze. A lovely water feature spills thru the hills of the garden which offers benches to stop and take in the beauty along the way.
- Central Baptist Fountain City Prayer Garden, 5634 N. Broadway. The young garden features a variety of plants with accent lighting enhancing the landscape in the evening. Ample parks; visitors should enter from Lynnwood Drive.
Camera Site:
- Todd & Betty Wiesenberg, 5101 Angeles Dr.
Fountain City West –Panorama Side – 8.9 miles, established in 1957. Trail begins at 100 Hotel Ave. and meanders across the top of Black Oak Ridge with a panoramic view across Knoxville to the Smoky Mountains. It continues into Sherwood Forest and ends at historic Fountain City Lake and Park.
Open Garden:
- Gentry Griffey Funeral Chapel, 5301 Fountain Road. Daylight only. Three acres of gardens, park setting and rocking chairs overlooking Fountain City Lake.
Camera Sites:
- Fountain City Elementary School, 2910 Montbelle Dr. Dogwoods, redbuds and kwanzan cherry trees, plus spring-blooming bulbs,.
- Doug & Oda Wyatt, 5901 Parkdale Rd.
Halls/Timberline: Mature native dogwoods mix with newly planted trees. Trail begins off Emory Road, and winds through Timberline Estates. This is Dogwood Arts’ first trail outside Knoxville’s city limits.
REA agents pitch in
Realty Executives Associates is in year two of an exclusive partnership with Dogwood Arts. Agents are representing each trail:
- North Hills – Mary Kidwell
- Fountain City – Dylan Martin
- Halls Timberline – Lizzy McDaniel
- Chapman Highway – Roy Nicaud
- Lakemoor Hills – Colleen Boehr
- Island Home – Carrie Poteat
- Holston Hills – Kelly Absher
- Morningside – REA
- West Hills – Lynette Bell
- Sequoyah Hills – Daniel Park
- Westmoreland – Alexis Guindi
- Deane Hill – Susan Calabrese
- Farragut – Pam Owen
Shannon Herron oversees marketing, communications and design services for the 18 annual events and programs of Dogwood Arts.