Some bushes showcase in spring, others in summer season, and others are flashy in fall. Sadly, maybe, the rarer tree masterfully navigates every season as a number one woman of the panorama. Dogwood bushes, nevertheless, handle to do precisely that, and a few of them even have ornamental bark that lights up the winter panorama. Right here, we’ll share our favourite dogwood varieties that can assist you select probably the most lovely kind on your backyard.
Dogwoods are a number of the most prolific bloomers of the spring season, with their lots of considerably sized flowers in shades of white, pink, and even purple. They make fantastic shade bushes in summer season with their low, vast canopies.
If the blooms and fairly foliage aren’t incentive sufficient to develop a dogwood, you merely should see them in fall. Dogwood bushes flip shades of good scarlet and vermillion, gently accented with golds and oranges. Some have engaging purple fruits, and a choose few have colourful bark that creates curiosity in winter.
Let’s check out some fantastic dogwood varieties on your panorama.
Appalachian Pleasure
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botanical title Cornus florida ‘Appalachian Pleasure’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 15’ – 20’ |
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hardiness zones 5 – 9 |
This attractive dogwood will shine all 4 seasons of the yr. Beginning in fall with very showy flowers, the blooms of this selection are further particular. The place most dogwood flowers have 4 petals, ‘Appalachian Pleasure’ can have as much as 8 petals or bracts per flower! The cover is vast and branching, creating a beautiful distinction to extra upright neighboring bushes.
In fall, ‘Appalachian Pleasure’ goes out with an intense shade present. Leaves flip shades of purple and purple, then fall to disclose vibrant purple berries for the winter, attracting many songbirds to the backyard. This selection was additionally bred for enhanced illness resistance, making this a wonderful tree for these dwelling in areas the place dogwoods are susceptible.
Arctic Fireplace
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botanical title Cornus sericea ‘Farrow’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 3’-4′ |
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hardiness zones 3 – 7 |
‘Arctic Fireplace’ is extra of a shrub than a tree, reaching a mature top of solely 5 toes tall. Its branching behavior makes it a beautiful, dense little shrub, although. It is vitally shade tolerant, so this dogwood can flourish in your yard’s tough spots. It additionally does tremendous with partial solar.
The flowers on ‘Arctic Fireplace’ are small and white and seem in tight clusters together with the intense inexperienced leaves in spring. The principle attraction of this selection is the one that’s most obvious in winter. The newer branches are a daring, vibrant shade of purple, deepening as they age. They make very good lower branches so as to add to winter floral preparations.
Arctic Solar
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botanical title Cornus sanguinea ‘Arctic Solar’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 4’ |
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hardiness zones 4 – 8 |
When you guess this dogwood may additionally have colourful bark like its equally named cousin, ‘Arctic Fireplace’, you’ll not be disillusioned. ‘Arctic Solar’ has decorative bark that shines in shades of yellow and orange and deepens to a beautiful shade of coral over time.
Arctic solar glows within the backyard, lots of small white flowers odor pretty in spring, and the foliage turns from inexperienced to gold in fall. Its compact measurement makes this a really accessible plant, even for smaller areas. Preserve this one near your out of doors dwelling areas to benefit from the colours all yr.
Barton
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botanical title Cornus florida ‘Barton’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 20’ – 25’ |
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hardiness zones 5 – 8 |
‘Barton’ is a sublime, traditional dogwood tree with a manageable mature top of 20’-25’. After I hear the title dogwood, that is the tree I envision. An avenue of those bushes makes a spectacular sight in spring and fall, and its pyramidal progress behavior makes a pleasant shade tree in summer season.
‘Barton’s’ blooms are the quintessential, four-petaled selection, in white, with inexperienced facilities. The leaves start and finish their tenure in shades of purple. The leaves emerge ruby purple in spring, regularly deepening to a darkish inexperienced shade. Lastly, in fall, the foliage reveals off a flamboyant, fiery shade of purple.
Cherokee Courageous
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botanical title Cornus florida ‘Comco No. 1’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 20’ – 25’ |
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hardiness zones 5 – 9 |
The Cherokee sequence are hybrids with wonderful illness resistance. This selection is thought for its exceptionally colourful nature. The flowers of ‘Cherokee Courageous’ are a number of the showiest of the genus. Pink-edged bracts are white towards the middle, with purple veining and lime inexperienced facilities.
The foliage of this cultivar additionally reveals off a touch of blush earlier than maturing to massive, daring, inexperienced leaves. In fall, the leaves flip burgundy after which fall to show the intense purple berries that herald overwintering songbirds. This hardy hybrid resists ailments and pests and is extra drought-tolerant than most.
Cherokee Princess
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botanical title Cornus florida ‘Cherokee Princess’ |
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solar necessities Partial shade |
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top 30’ |
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hardiness zones 5 – 9 |
This princess is aptly named for her beautiful magnificence. ‘Cherokee Princess’ is a pretty big selection, reaching about 30 toes tall at maturity. A pleasant, vast, branching progress behavior makes a surprising assertion lined in massive, snow-white flowers in spring. This cultivar has purple leaves in spring, which deepen to a deep inexperienced shade in summer season.
This wonderful shade tree has a aptitude for the dramatic, with 4 seasons of curiosity. In fall, when the daylight wane and chlorophyll manufacturing slows, the purple undertones flare again up, turning brick purple. Pink berries add curiosity in winter contrasted with the engaging gray bark. ‘Cherokee Princess’ usually has a diffusion higher than its top and a low clearance.
Cloud 9
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botanical title Cornus florida ‘Cloud 9’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 15’ – 30’ |
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hardiness zones 5 – 9 |
‘Cloud 9’ is a flexible dogwood that may be skilled as a big shrub or a small tree. It has a generously branching progress behavior, making it a fantastic specimen or panorama point of interest. Dogwood bushes have a beautiful, intentional impact on the panorama that not many bushes can create.
Count on massive, showy, white flowers for a number of weeks in spring, adopted by glowing inexperienced foliage in summer season. Crimson and scarlet are ‘Cloud 9’s’ fall tones, and visual purple berries spruce up the winter backyard. This selection might be delicate, so in case your space has a historical past of anthracnose infestation, this won’t be the suitable one on your yard.
Elizabeth Lustgarden
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botanical title Cornus kousa ‘Elizabeth Lustgarden’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 12’ – 15’ |
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hardiness zones 5 – 9 |
The kousa species of dogwoods aren’t native. Reasonably, they hail from Asia and have wonderful illness resistance. ‘Elizabeth Lustgarden’ is a captivating selection with a weeping behavior in a pleasant compact measurement that may be a big shrub or small tree. The branches will weep all the way in which to the bottom when the tree is mature.
This isn’t a range you’ll seemingly see in everybody’s backyard, so will probably be a particular point of interest wherever you plant it. In fall, this selection’s massive, downward-hanging leaves are a daring shade of scarlet. In winter, Kousa Dogwoods have massive, edible fruit, not like different species, which have fruit that’s edible for birds however not people.
Firebird
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botanical title Cornus florida ‘Fircomz’ |
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solar necessities Partial solar |
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top 15’ – 18’ |
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hardiness zones 5 – 9 |
Maintain onto your hats as a result of this one is a showstopper. If colourful is your goal, ‘Firebird’ might be on the high of your checklist. The variegated foliage pops out in pink, white, and inexperienced shades in spring. This flashy foliage is joined by fantastic purple and white flowers engaging to pollinators. At simply 15’-18’ tall, this dogwood matches in anyplace.
In fall, the beautiful foliage reveals off much more, turning shades of pink and plum, with plump purple fruits sprinkled all through. It’s beautiful year-round, and the songbirds will flock to your backyard for a feast when ‘Firebird’ drops its leaves. This selection makes a fantastic, massive shrub, however the backside branches can be pruned to create extra of a small tree form.
First Woman
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botanical title Cornus florida ‘First Woman’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 20’ – 30’ |
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hardiness zones 6 – 9 |
‘First Woman’ joins ‘Firebird’ in having variegated foliage, however on this case, the variegation reveals off in shades of inexperienced and yellow, that are larger distinction in cooler climates and deeper inexperienced in hotter ones. The flowers are massive and creamy white. First Woman has an upright, branching behavior, making it a really engaging, multi-level tree.
This can be a bigger selection and a show-off in fall, with leaves that keep variegation however in daring shades of pink and purple. If the decrease branches aren’t pruned, they keep a low clearance, usually drooping to the bottom. The higher branches develop extra vertically. This can be a really lovely addition to the panorama.
Isanti
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botanical title Cornus sericea ‘Isanti’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 4′ – 5′ |
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hardiness zones 3 – 8 |
This shrubby dogwood has wonderful chilly tolerance and is hardy to Zone 3. It’s slow-growing and compact and makes a beautiful hedge as soon as mature. The foliage is purple in spring and accented with clusters of small, white flowers. The summer season foliage deepens to a pleasant, medium-green shade.
‘Isanti’ has the signature purple fall foliage so widespread to the genus and produces small white fruits, just like ‘Firedance’. One other comparable trait between the 2 varieties is the intense purple branches that make this a particular deal with for the winter panorama. Pruning the oldest branches will hold the bark vibrant purple and showy.
Ivory Halo
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botanical title Cornus alba ‘Baihalo’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 6’ |
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hardiness zones 3 – 7 |
‘Ivory Halo’ is an uneventful bloomer, however that doesn’t imply that it’s with out its charms. The foliage is a serious promoting level for this shrubby dogwood selection. The foliage is variegated, with beautiful blue-green leaves which have vibrant white, irregular margins. Whereas the flowers aren’t the primary attraction, pollinators appear keen on this selection.
The leaves tackle a reddish-purple tone in fall and are accented by fairly white berries that entice songbirds. This selection additionally has daring purple bark, which is fantastic in distinction with the cool-colored leaves and good in opposition to the chilly winter panorama.
Neon Burst
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botanical title Cornus alba ‘Byboughen’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 4′ – 5’ |
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hardiness zones 2 – 7 |
Flashy and colourful, ‘Neon Burst’ is a extra sun-tolerant dogwood shrub than most. The foliage emerges neon inexperienced with a bronze forged, and the colour intensifies to glowing chartreuse by summertime. The branches are deep purple, and the colour is most intense in spring, creating a beautiful shade palette.
‘Neon Burst’ has a full and rounded progress behavior and makes a spectacular hedge in a grouping. In fall, this selection actually unleashes the rainbow, taking over purple, purple, and orange accents to its vibrant yellow-green summer season leaves. This very colourful shrub makes a giant assertion however doesn’t require a lot house.
Pacific
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botanical title Cornus nuttallii |
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solar necessities Partial shade |
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top 15’ – 40’ |
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hardiness zones 7 – 9 |
Pacific is a big species of dogwood. Reaching common heights of about 40 toes tall, some specimens have grown taller than 60 toes. This dogwood additionally has hardwood generally used to make a wide selection of helpful merchandise. The bark is clean and darkish, and the leaves are a beautiful pointed oval form.
Pacific dogwood has the pleasant behavior of blooming in spring and once more in early fall because the climate cools. The autumn bloom can overlap with fall shade adjustments, which are available in purples and reds. This tree is native to the US Pacific coast and prefers hotter climates.
Pagoda
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botanical title Cornus alternifolia |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 15’ – 25’ |
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hardiness zones 3 – 7 |
This cultivar’s fascinating, horizontal, tiered branching behavior makes it extremely fascinating. Native to the northern United States, ‘Pagoda’ is cold-tolerant, and its measurement lends effectively to each a big shrub or small tree kind. The title comes from its distinctive branching behavior, which creates layers that slim towards the highest of the tree.
‘Pagoda’ has closely veined, deep inexperienced leaves, producing clusters of small, aromatic, white flowers in spring. Flowers give method to black fruits, and the bark is decorative, with reddish-purple undertones to newer progress. In fall, ‘Pagoda’s’ foliage is vibrant purple. This tree is finest fitted to cooler climates and isn’t drought-tolerant.
Rainbow
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botanical title Cornus florida ‘Rainbow’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 30’ |
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hardiness zones 5 – 8 |
For plenty of backyard shade, it’s no shock that ‘Rainbow’ dogwood can be on the high of the checklist. This fairly massive selection has a horizontal branching behavior, which creates a layered look because the tree matures. The flowers are the least colourful a part of the tree, however they’re very fairly. Massive and creamy white, the flowers properly complement the spring’s gold and inexperienced variegated foliage.
In summer season, the leaves deepen in shade, and purple fruits develop. The autumn foliage is ruby-colored and makes a putting backdrop for shorter-statured crops. ‘Rainbow’ is sluggish rising, at about 12-18 inches per yr, and reaches a mature top of about 30 toes tall.
Pink Osier
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botanical title Cornus sericea |
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solar necessities Partial shade |
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top 6’ – 9’ |
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hardiness zones 3 – 7 |
‘Pink Osier’ is probably the most widespread dogwood of these native to North America, starting from Zone 3 to Zone 7. It’s a very tolerant and durable species. Finest grown as a medium-sized shrub, it’s acquired loads of enchantment within the panorama. The purple branches widespread in shrubbier dogwoods are notably vibrant and create a beautiful distinction with the intense inexperienced leaves.
‘Pink Osier’ produces clusters of small, aromatic, white flowers in spring, which seem after the leaves, creating one other ingredient of magnificence to the plant. The leaves of this species have additionally been equally utilized by some Native Individuals as tobacco leaves.
Satomi
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botanical title Cornus kousa ‘Satomi’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 12’ – 20’ |
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hardiness zones 5 – 8 |
‘Satomi’ is a non-native dogwood selection that hails from Asia. Initially, this small to medium-sized dogwood has a vase form, but it surely matures to a beautiful rounded kind and makes a pleasant shade tree.
The flowers of this selection are distinctive and exquisite. The 4 bracts are white and have the looks of being calmly sprayed or splattered with deep pink paint. Kousa dogwoods additionally produce edible fruits, though few individuals domesticate them for that function, and they’re usually left for the birds, who totally get pleasure from them.
Silver and Gold
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botanical title Cornus sericea ‘Silver and Gold’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 5′ – 7’ |
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hardiness zones 3 – 8 |
Talking of shrubby dogwoods with decorative bark, ‘Silver and Gold’ is a superb cultivar with sunny yellow to purple branches, making this an announcement plant for all seasons. It’s tolerant of moist and boggy soil sorts and, in actual fact, prefers various water, so keep away from planting this in full solar and provides it particular consideration throughout the sizzling summer season months.
‘Silver and Gold’ has fantastic variegated foliage along with its colourful bark. The leaves are paying homage to ‘Pearls and Jade’ pothos, with irregular variations of sunshine and darkish inexperienced, mingled with white, with white margins. The flowers of this selection aren’t noteworthy as they’re fairly small, however the fruits they produce are very engaging.
Venus
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botanical title Cornus ‘Kn30 8’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 14’ – 18’ |
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hardiness zones 6 – 9 |
For a specimen tree that may have the neighbors speaking, ‘Venus’ actually takes the cake. This small tree has a number of the largest flowers of the dogwoods, at six to eight inches in diameter. The scale and sheer quantity of the flowers create a spectacular impact in spring. As a hybrid of C. kousa, the strawberry-like fruits of this tree are edible.
Venus has a diffusion that’s usually higher than its top, creating a beautiful, layered cover. It usually has a low clearance, however the backside branches might be pruned off to create extra of a tree form. In fall, ‘Venus’ reveals up in shades of purple, gold, orange, and purple, making this one of many showiest dogwoods on the checklist.
Wonderberry
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botanical title Cornus florida ‘Wonderberry’ |
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solar necessities Full solar to partial shade |
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top 20’ – 25’ |
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hardiness zones 5 – 8 |
‘Wonderberry’ is called for its fruits, that are vibrant purple and considerably bigger than most dogwoods. Reasonably than being spherical, they’re an elongated form and fairly seen in opposition to the inexperienced foliage. This selection grows to about 25 toes however has a low clearance if not pruned, so it has a shrubby and tiered progress behavior.
‘Wonderberry’ has pure white flowers in traditional kind with 4 petal bracts. In fall, the foliage turns shades of purple and gold. With its massive berries which can be very seen and engaging to birds, ‘Wonderberry’ has year-round panorama curiosity.
Remaining Ideas
Dogwood bushes are merely beautiful and make a beautiful addition to any backyard panorama. Their bounty of blooms in spring, putting foliage by way of summer season and fall, and engaging berries and branches in winter add magnificence to the yard all yr. Only a few bushes can boast as many fantastic qualities. In case you had been questioning which dogwood I’ll add to my backyard this yr, ‘Venus’ really has my coronary heart!