Dogwood Tree
Flax and Cornus
Some years ago, towards the back of the Island Bed, I planted a Cornus, or Dogwood Tree. I had been enlarging this garden, and wanted a specimen tree I could enjoy from the house.
Gardener's Imagination
In my gardener's imagination I could see the Dogwood tree instantly filling in the newly extended garden with its beautifully variegated leaves.
In reality the pretty hybrid Dogwood tree would have better suited a gardener with extreme patience - for this tree is incredibly slow growing. It's now been in there for five years, and I still can't see it from the house! Consequently I often miss the autumn colour changes, and the spring growth.
I have to remember to prune back encroaching branches of the nearby Viburnum and the Prunus trees. My carefully nurtured specimen tree requires light, and space!
Bulky Green Phormium
Other plantings like the green weeping flax (Phormium) have bulked out, but the specimen Dogwood tree remains quite small and compact. It is a beautiful tree, though, and well worth waiting for.
Cornus Leaves
Somewhere in the dusty archives of my gardening journals I will have faithfully written down the planting details, including the name, of this variety of Cornus. I suspect it may be the variety Cherokee Chief. The photograph below shows its mid-autumn leaf colouring.
Another Autumn Dogwood
And here's why I love Dogwoods. Spring and Autumn colour is so different!
Dogwood - Spring and Autumn