In May, some of the most beautiful plants with decorative bracts bloom. Remove these bracts, and you will only have a often insignificant flowering to observe...
Take the so-called "flowering" dogwoods: all dogwoods bloom! But it is the Cornus florida, Cornus kousa (the later ones), Cornus nuttallii, and other hybrids that are most easily spotted, as their green, globular inflorescences—let's be honest: of little interest on their own—are surrounded by four spectacular bracts, in colours ranging from pure white to pink.
The dove tree or Davidia involucrata is a tree native to China that is absolutely magnificent when in full bloom. As often in the garden, it is a spectacle that requires patience: one often has to wait around twenty years after planting to see a dense and spectacular flowering... but patience will always be rewarded by this tree, which is ultimately quite undemanding.
Bracts are actually modified leaves that surround the inflorescence: their "hybrid" character is well seen in the arum 'Green Goddess' (Zantedeschia aethiopica), which begins to bloom now in sheltered situations and will continue throughout the summer to enhance bouquets!
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