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Colourful cornus
The poet Ted Hughes described November as the month of the drowned dog, but there are far more attractive things to lift the spirit, no more so than the colourful dogwood, says The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA).
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o create a beautiful garden with year-round appeal it’s essential to pick the best plants, and few celebrate the seasons more than colourful cornus. Commonly called dogwoods, these reliable and hardy shrubs provide a luscious leafy backdrop to summer flowers. As a final fanfare, their foliage is transformed into a rainbow of colours through autumn before fluttering away to reveal brilliant wand-like stems. This seasonal transformation is just the start of a host of new planting partnerships that can be enjoyed right through until spring. During winter the brightly coloured stems of dogwoods catch sunlight to create dazzling displays. Small gardens might only have space for a single plant, so position it where the low piercing winter sunlight will shine through, catching stems in its spotlight. No wonder varieties have been given names like ‘Winter Beauty’ and ‘Midwinter Fire’ as the intense rays of the sun really bring those fierycoloured stems to life. Take a look at the whole range of shrubby dogwoods to discover varieties with different foliage and stem colour combinations from ‘Flaviramea’ with green leaves and golden-yellow stems, ‘Spaethii’ with variegated, yellow-edged green leaves and red stems, or the white margined leaves and red stems of ‘Elegantissima’. In addition, many shrubby dogwoods also carry clusters of tiny flowers through summer. These are usually a creamy-white colour, and often lead on to form dense heads of white berries in autumn.
Popular dogwood varieties for the garden For summer foliage and winter stems: Cornus alba varieties – such as ‘Elegantissima’, ‘Aurea’, ‘Spaethii’ and Siberian dogwood ‘Sibirica’ Cornus sericea varieties – such as Golden-twig dogwood ‘Flaviramea’ and dwarf Kelsey’s Gold Cornus sanguinea varieties – such as ‘Midwinter Fire’ and ‘Winter Beauty’ Small trees with attractive flowers and foliage: Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’ (Award of Garden Merit – AGM) Cornus kousa varieties like ‘Miss Satomi’ (Award of Garden Merit – AGM) Cornus ‘Venus’ For winter flowers: Cornus mas – dainty yellow flowers in winter, red fruits in late summer
Cornus Alba Sibirica Variegata, Dogwood
24 essence-magazine.co.uk | NOVEMBER 2016