Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire'
dogwood
- Position: full sun to part shade
- Soil: any moderately fertile soil
- Rate of growth: fast-growing
- Flowering period: June
- Hardiness: fully hardy
This deciduous shrub has oval, mid-green leaves and produces small, creamy-white flowers in May and June. But it's really grown for the brilliant, flame-coloured stems that are revealed when the leaves, which turn orange-yellow in autumn, fall. This fabulous dogwood looks best planted in groups in damp areas of the garden, beside water, or in a winter border. One of our recommended plants, it's best in full sun, and works particularly well with red or purple-stemmed varieties of dogwood. - Garden care: For best stem colour, cut the stems back hard to within 5-7cm (2-3in) from the ground in March and apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted garden compost or horse manure around the base of the plant.
Cornus alba 'Elegantissima'
red-barked dogwood
Vivid red stems in winter
Cornus alba 'Sibirica'
red-barked dogwood
Bright coral-red stems in winter
Lonicera × purpusii 'Winter Beauty'
winter honeysuckle
Fantastic fragrance during the winter
Hamamelis mollis
Chinese witch hazel
Spidery flowers with lovely winter fragrance
Skimmia japonica 'Rubella'
Japanese skimmia (male)
Superb winter colour
Viburnum davidii
viburnum
Attractive turquoise-blue berries
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A twiggy ‘bonfire’ with winter stems in shades of orange and red at the upper tips to mustard-yellow down below
Val Bourne - Garden Writer