They say that a truly good idea is one where you think “that’s so obvious, why didn’t I think of that?”.
I came across this planting combination in a customer’s garden; the warm orange of Hamamelis ‘Aphrodite’ and the golden yellow of Cornus mas.
But surely this would look good if you used a yellow Hamamelis? Yes it would look good, but the subtle differences in flower types here make this combination a little better, a little more interesting, a little more refined.
Would this work elsewhere? Yes! They both enjoy humus rich acidic soil, and uniformly damp (but not too wet) soil all year round.
These plants were both the same size when planted and have grown up well together. Neither respond well to pruning, particularly not the Cornus mas which is at best likely to throw shoots in every direction and look dreadful, but is more likely to suffer pathogen attack; plant these two with room to develop!
Cornus mas 
Hamamelis ‘Aphrodite’
If you want to try this combination don’t succumb to temptation and plant Cornus officinalis instead of C. mas; C. officinalis is a superb plant and is similar to C. mas in many ways, but is much faster growing and won’t be quite as harmonious in this combination!
