Top Tree for Small Gardens

If you are looking for a small to medium tree that can add grace and colour to your garden, then a Cornus kousa may be just what you are looking for. Also known as the Japanese dogwood, it is fantastic option that will add beauty and interest from early spring through to autumn. Abundant, delicate flower bracts cover the branches in springtime in a range of pastel shades, from the white, upwardly curved flowers of Cornus kousa ‘Madam Butterfly’ through to the beautiful pink shades of Cornus kousa ‘Dwarf Pink’ and the deeper pink bracts of Cornus kousa ‘Miss Satomi’.  Many varieties carry beautiful, variegated leaves throughout the summer months, like Cornus kousa ‘Laura’, a graceful, shrubby tree with narrow, green leaves edged with creamy white and Cornus alternifolia ‘Argentea’ AGM: a rare variety which forms a dense shrub, has attractive variegated leaves and small white flowers in the spring.

Cornus kousa are a fantastic choice for autumn colour too when the leaves flare orange through to deep reds and purples and the branches are adorned with strawberry-like berries. Cornus kousa ‘Bonfire’ offers spectacular autumn colour, along with Cornus kousa ‘Ben Fuji’ which holds its dramatic autumnal reds and purples very well. Cornus kousa ‘Autumn Rose’ is also a fabulous choice for autumn interest, with its lovely shades of pinks and reds.

Flowering Cornus prefer either full sun or partial shade and well-drained, fertile soil that is rich in organic matter, and neutral to slightly acid soil conditions, although Cornus kousa are tolerant of alkaline soils.

Here at Larch Cottage we stock a wide range of Cornus kousa varieties, offering you a fantastic choice of these elegant, distinctive trees.

(Blog post written by Jo Chamberlain)