With the weather still cold and the days still short it is the humble snowdrop that gives us hope that spring will soon be here. While known as ‘spring flowers’, these hardy herbaceous plants are so hardy that they often bloom in winter. They can even emerge and grow through snow due to a natural anti-freeze they produce.

There are several varieties of dogwood dotted along the Connswater Community Greenway all with similar growing and seasonal habits. The plant shows off with a white cluster of flowers in late spring, followed by blue or white berries after summer. The leaves then redden in the autumn before revealing the glorious red stems. It is these red stems that give dogwood its popularity as an ornamental shrub and an extensive use for landscaping. This plant is used commonly in gardens, planted in colourful mass along roadside edge or as an informal hedge.

During what has been a particularly wet start to the New Year, the sight of some flowers on the Greenway is a welcome sight! Viburnum tinus is an evergreen native which has been grown successfully in the UK for over 400 years, in a climate which couldn’t be further removed from its native Mediterranean homeland or northern Africa where it commonly grows wild. At home in sun baked environments, you could be forgiven for thinking it would struggle in our cold and wet climate.

A tree which we could have highlighted many times throughout the year as it always stands out due to its signature chalk white bark. At the start of the year when we have returned to work and stuck in the middle of a cold wet winter, the vibrancy of the white bark contrasts with the dull weather and our mood!