Celebrating Poundbury Magazine Issue 5: Celebrating 25 years of Poundbury | Page 62

ECO NEWS DON'T FORGET BARK BY LUCY SIMPSON, MANAGER AT POUNDBURY GARDENS Plants with interesting bark are often forgotten about but in the depths of the winter when the bark is finally revealed as the foliage falls they come into their own. T hese include the Birch Bark Cherry, (Prunus serrula Tibetica) with its glossy, polished mahogany coloured peeling bark. With similar colourings Acer griseum the Paperbark Maple, is a small, upright tree, with brown peeling, shaggy bark that reveals cinnamon coloured new bark below. I love Silver Birch and one of the best is Betula Jacquemontti with white peeling bark after a few years. One plant that always makes me chuckle is the Contorted Hazel (Corylus contorta) with its gnarled, twisted branches with yellow catkins which hang straight down from the branches in late winter. Euonymus alatus has great autumn foliage colour and have winged stems, which are intriguing and show up well with the foliage having disappeared. Many Dogwoods can also be great for their bark but top of my list is Cornus Midwinter Fire with its autumn colours followed by the orange red stems for the rest of the winter. 62 WWW.CELEBRATINGPOUNDBURY.CO.UK The features are great throughout the darker months but are at their best when the winter sun, low in the sky picks out bark colours accentuating their impact. CHRISTMAS DISPLAY Check out the festive display at Poundbury Gardens all of November and December. The incredible Christmas grotto is great at Christmas time with presents and festive decorations galore. We go the extra mile for our landlords 01305 751919 [email protected] www.dorsetpropertygallery.co.uk 1 Allington Hall, Durngate Street, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1JP WWW.CELEBRATINGPOUNDBURY.CO.UK 63