The flowering Dogwood is known for its beautiful bracts that appear around the late spring to early summer. However, the most popular Dogwoods, the Cornus alba, Cornus sericea and Cornus sanguinea are actually grown for their stunning and brightly coloured stems, often yellow, red and even a firey orange depending on the variety have, and they make one of the most stunning winter displays you will ever see. Finally, there is the lesser-known ‘Cornelian Cherry’, also known as…

Hebes are evergreen shrubs whose size can grow upwards of 1.2 metres. Even though they originated in North America and New Zealand they do grow well in the UK given the hardness of the varieties. They prefer full sun throughout the year and they can tolerate semi-shade. They grow well in beds, borders, or in pots and are tolerant of slightly acidic through to slightly alkaline soil, heavy clay soil, or light soil, making them…

Berberis, or Barberries, can be great planted as specimen shrubs or used as hedging and offer a range of berries that are suitable for birds and other wildlife. With these plants, you want to prune them annually to stimulate the new growth on the different stems that are left behind, deadhead in some cases if you don’t want the berries to follow the flowers. If you have a healthy shrub or you want to turn…

Berberis, sometimes called Barberries might not be well known for drawing attention but they perform incredibly well when given the right growing conditions and there are so many different varieties, from dwarf evergreen varieties to larger deciduous ones. This plant comes in a wide range of sizes and no matter the size you select, you will enjoy flowers come spring, followed by fruit in the autumn, and then foliage for the rest of the year…