Plant of the week

RUBUS COCKBURNIANUS GOLDENVALE

HERE’S a lovable thug with year-round charm. Rubus cockburnianus is an ornamental blackberry which develops a thicket of upright stems whose bark is a pale, silvery grey. In low winter light these appear white and make an enchanting display. The variety Goldenvale (right) has even greater value because the spring foliage is golden, toning down to soft lime green in summer and returning to old gold before falling off each autumn. A rapid and vigorous spreader, this is not a plant to be left uncontrolled.