Can you ID this please?

I have this in my front garden - left from the previous owner. We have to cut it down to keep it bay about once a year, but its not very troublesome. It does make our arms itchy once we've finished though, so was wondering what it was and whether we should keep it?

It has little black berries on it and I do appreciate that our pruning job was functional at best - we're not really gardeners! we do low maintenance

 

Clinbing hydranga ??

 

hmm, the leaves look similar, but its more of a tree/shrub I think? - its got a 'trunk' about 1 inch thick and branches coming off it, It doesn't climb as such.

 

leaves look like Dogwood.

 

Oh, welcome to Gardeners Corner by the way

 

ah thank you! I did a bit of googling, so I *think* its an alternate-leaved dogwood and its itchy cos it has little hairs on it. I feel at peace now I think that is the only plant in our garden apart from grass and a lavender bush!

 

Welcome SarahD.
If it has black berries it is probably Cornus sanguinea.
In June I spent hours cutting down a huge area of very tall Cornus sanguinea that had gone wild, thankfully without any allergic reaction.

Thanks to your thread I have today learnt about the possible allergic effect it can have. see....

Learn something new all the time!

Some shrubs are very bad eg Viburnum Rhytidophyllum.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dQBAzfyCeQ8C&pg=PA441&lpg=PA441&dq=cornus+sanguinea+allergy&source=bl&ots=tY3vkHuooW&sig=3nv5_FY9TBlDKfzfJxZjUaYX588&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kPAnUJibH-ag0QWZh4CgCg&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=cornus%20sanguinea%20allergy&f=false

 

So, are you planning on developing on that?