Cournus Kousa in May

Blossoming until the longest day and even beyond, kousa dogwoods billow with dainty floral bracts in shades of cream, pink, white or ghostly greens, illuminating shady glades or basking in dappled sunlight.

Deciduous, a mature Cornus kousastands around seven metres tall, whilst its many cultivars range from small to medium-sized trees. With age, they tend to spread, the branches arching out from the base of the trunk to display the beautiful flowering bracts, foliage and fruit. ‘Flowering dogwoods look good in every season, even in winter when mature specimens reveal a tiered, cloud-pruned silhouette that is completely natural,’ says Ed Round who cares for a National Plant Collection of Cornus that was established by the late Robin Compton in his garden at Newby Hall, Yorkshire.