Cushnie's favourites.
FOR CONTAINERS
Heather (Calluna vulgaris,) - evergreen, pink, white, crimson, mauve or purple flowers from midsummer into autumn, needs acid compost
Skimmia japonica 'Rubella' - evergreen, with dark red flower buds that last all winter
Hebe 'Emerald Green' - tiny evergreen leaves, white flowers in summer
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) - the variety 'Chitoseyama' has bronze-green leaves that colour well in autumn
Spanish gorse (Genista hispanica) - low, spiny shrub, golden-yellow flowers in spring and summer
Pieris japonica 'Mountain Fire' - young leaves are bright red, white flowers in late winter and spring, needs acid compost
Rhododendron 'Princess Anne' - new leaves are bronze, pale yellow flowers in late spring, needs acid compost
GOOD AUTUMN FOLIAGE
Disanthus cercidifolius - heart-shaped leaves turn orange, red and purple, needs lime-free soil
Cotinus 'Flame' - the smoke bush, oval, light green leaves turn red and orange
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) - many turn red, but the leaves of 'Dissectum' go a warm yellow
Fothergilla major - white flowers in late spring, dark green leaves turning yellow, orange and red
Euonymus europaeus 'Red Cascade' - a cultivated form of our native spindle bush, with bright red autumn leaves
Rhus typhina 'Dissecta' - this stag's horn sumach has much-divided leaves that turn brilliant orange and red
LOW MAINTENANCE
Magnolia stellata 'Royal Star' - pale pink buds open into starry, white flowers in spring; unlike most magnolias, this tolerates alkaline soil
Rhododendron luteum - deciduous azalea with fragrant yellow flowers in late spring and early summer
Camellia x williamsii 'St Ewe' - glossy evergreen leaves and pink flowers; needs moist, acid soil
Hamamelis x intermedia 'Moonlight' - a witch hazel, with leaves turning butter-yellow in autumn, pale yellow, stringy flowers appear on bare stems in winter; dislikes being transplanted
Callistemon citrinus 'Splendens' - the Australian bottlebrush with arching branches and red "bottlebrush" flowers in early summer
Paeonia lutea var. ludlowii - elegant, deeply cut leaves and large yellow flowers in spring