THE vibrant stems of dogwood, in shades of vivid red through to deep yellow, provide a touch of drama to the winter garden.

Some carry variegated leaves and all are easy to grow, but the one rule of thumb is that you must hard-prune them each spring. Cornus alba is a great red-bark variety, its new stems produced each spring forming a thicket which spreads each year. C. alba ‘Sibirica’ will give you really right stems, while C. alba ‘Elegantissima’ bears white edged leaves and C. stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’ produces yellow stems and looks effective grown against a red-bark variety. Cornus will grow in virtually any garden soil, in sun or partial shade.

Prune back to a few inches above ground level in spring.