Colour can be hard to come by in the garden at this time of year, and when the days are short it’s all too easy to close the curtains on lifeless brown borders and ignore them until spring. But why not add some cheer to the new year instead with some glorious winter shrubs?

Colour can be hard to come by in the garden at this time of year, and when the days are short it’s all too easy to close the curtains on lifeless brown borders and ignore them until spring. But why not add some cheer to the new year instead with some glorious winter shrubs?

Go for bold berries and colourful stems that will brighten things up and look nothing short of spectacular glowing in low winter sunshine. Hardy shrubs can even be planted now in ground that isn’t frozen or waterlogged.

Stands of vibrant dogwood stems make one of the most eye-catching winter displays, and are easy to grow. Varieties of Cornus alba come in rich shades of red, while C. sericea ‘Flaviramea’ is a bright green-tinged yellow. The best displays are prduced in full sun and only the young wood boasts these vivid colours, meaning shrubs need to be cut back close to ground level in early spring each year to promote new growth.