Bark and stem colour
During the recent snowy weather one of the features that has stood out in our gardens has been coloured twigs and stems and textural bark. Quite apart from everything else, in some cases it’s all that’s been visible with much of the surrounding ground covered in its white blanket.
All the best winter gardens open to the public have fine examples and, together with evergreens, they make up the core of most winter interest. It’s worth visiting one or two of the best winter gardens to source ideas for your own.
On our recent visit to Bodnant we were treated to a whole array of colourful twigs, especially from the cornus family. There was bright limey-green Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’, the brilliant scarlet twigs of our own native Cornus sanguinea and even a variety with black twigs and a long name, Cornus alba ‘Kesselringii’. This looks most effective when its stems rise up from a pale ground cover. Euonymus fortunei ‘Silver Queen’, or a variegated ivy, make ideal companions.
It’s often many years before trees exhibit their finest display of bark. Many Asiatic acers develop outstanding bark, none better than Acer griseum, the paperbark maple introduced by the plantsman Ernest Wilson in the second year of the 20th century. What must he have felt like when he saw this lovely tree with its overcoat peeled back to reveal new cinnamon bark? Thanks to his efforts and those of other intrepid plant hunters, we all have access to a wondrous range of shrubs and trees to beautify our winter and spring gardens and beyond.