Trees a s centrepieces

Cornus with wow factor

Cornus are happy in pots as long as they’re watered well. Here’s vivid green ‘Flaviramea’ at the centre of pre-potted tulips, hyacinth, alpine wallflowers and violas. Leave the cornus to leaf up each year but replant and replace support plants as you wish.

Flowering currant combo

Ribes sanguineum ‘Elkington’s White’ is a deciduous shrub cascading with pendulous blooms from March. Plant in loam-based compost and jazz up the pot with matching primula underplanting. For a pop of pink, try R. sanguineum ‘Pulborough Scarlet’.

Sunshine from forsythia

Forsythia’s a ray of sunshine from early to mid spring – clusters of yellow blooms all along the stems set against a bright blue sky is a superb sight. Plant one in a pot of loambased compost, and complement the scene with some blue-yellow violas underneath.