My favourite flower this week is Cornus capitata, the evergreen dogwood. It is in full bloom in our garden with an absolute abundance of flowers. I particularly love the way the flowers change colour as they age.

Firstly, as in the picture, the flowers are lime green, gradually changing to a light green and finally into shades of pink. The flowers last a remarkably long time on the tree. Technically, they are bracts, not flowers, followed by large strawberry-like fruit.

The Royal Horticultural Society gave this tree its Award of Merit for its flowers in 1922 and for its fruit in 1974. This is an ideal tree for the small garden, ours is about six metres after 15 years.

SPIRAEA or May bush, with its white flowers appearing in early spring, finished flowering some weeks ago. However, the outstanding Spiraea japonica “Anthony Waterer”, with bright crimson flowers is now in full bloom.

In my original edition of “The Garden” journal, dated January, 1894, an advertisement by Waterers Nurseries advises gardeners: “In reply to the many inquiries and intending purchasers of this new plant, I beg respectfully to say that it will not be distributed until November, 1894”.

Costing seven shillings and sixpence, it was a hefty price at the time for a new variety of plant. And it is still readily available today.

It is one of a huge family, with Hillier’s trees and shrubs manual listing more than 120 varieties of May Bush.

An ideal shrub for the small garden, it looks particularly effective in a group of, say, three.

The term tufted varieties has been properly used to distinguish plants of a spreading habit. Such exotic names include the Countess of Wharncliffe, Marchioness of Tweeddale and Lady Dundonald. It would be hard to find more than a dozen varieties of any sort of pansy available today.

“YATES Garden Guide” just gets better and better. The 44th edition has been fully revised and updated, profusely illustrated guiding every step of the way for the dedicated gardener to the absolute beginner.

Arthur Yates first published the gardening guide in 1895, which proved a winner from day one. Since then, Yates has become synonymous with all things gardening, helped by this guide, with impressive sales of more than seven million copies.

Available from most bookshops and newsagents. I am giving one lucky reader the chance to win a copy. Write your name, suburb and a contact phone number on the back of an envelope and mail it to Cedric’s Garden Guide Giveaway, GPO Box 2448, Canberra 2601 by midday, Friday, December 4. Winner will be announced in my column of December 10.

WHY is it that blackbirds upset so many people? Sure, in their hunt for worms they scatter mulch all over paths. But so what? It’s the only bird I know that can sing from dawn to dusk without repeating a tune.

Jottings…

• For an early display of summer bedding plants, keep in mind from the time of planting (petunias etcetera) that they normally take eight weeks to be in full flower.
• Michelia figo or Port Wine Magnolia can be given a light prune now that it has finished flowering.
• Don’t put coffee grounds into garden beds because they kill microorganisms and worms.