Why it's good to grow plants that are suited to our climate 

Choosing plants like dogwood can be a surefire way to successful gardening, according to Peter Dowdall

Groups of cornus planted like this create dramatic colour in the winter garden. Picture: iStock

The change from summer to autumn has been more dramatic this year to most years as we must have seen a drop in temperatures of about ten or more degrees within one or two days. It was lovely to see the September sunshine nearly to the end of the month but there can be no doubt now that we are certainly in the autumn and along with the colder days we are also experiencing more rainy days.

Growing plants suited to our climate and conditions is the surefire way to successful gardening. One group of plants that will do well in wet and even waterlogged soils and which comes into its own from now onwards is the cornus or dogwood.