England's Gardens

I saw this tree today at Nyman's Gardens , Handcross, Sussex and thought it was beautiful. H/T to University of Arkansas for information on this wonderful plant. 'The Chinese dogwood comes into bloom in mid-May and lasting until early June. It is a 20-foot tall, twiggy, round-headed tree that is small enough to be accommodated in even the most crowded garden. Its flowers appear three weeks after those of the native dogwood. The blooms are pointed on the end instead of bobbed off like our native dogwood, giving the appearance of white four-pointed stars against the dense green background foliage. The individual petals -- actually modified leaves called bracts -- are usually 2- to 2 1/2 inches long and about one-third as wide. They begin as a beautiful light green and gradually change to bright white as the flowers open. In the autumn, the Chinese dogwood produces round ping-pong size clusters of red fruit on drooping peduncles that add another dimension of beauty to the tre