Nature Contained

I had the loveliest dream last night. Ken and I woke up early with our new little baby and went outside for a walk on this beautiful wooded trail. As we walked the path with our little person all bundled up in a cute snow hat and 2 coffees in hand, we noticed that the trail was loaded with all sorts of beautiful & unusual witch hazels. The dream presented itself in the form of little snapshots; Ken and me walking up to the different varieties of hamamelis and taking notes of the fragrance, bloom size and structure. It was really gorgeous. The light was magical and the contrast of the mossy colors along the trail and the wonderful range of yellows to oranges, oranges to rubies and rubies to rust were just so intense.

I woke up this morning so excited and inspired. I logged on to my computer and perused the Fairweather Gardens website-anything to extend my hamamelis love fest. I wish I had a copy of Chris Lane’s book, Witch Hazels so I could spend the rest of my Sunday morning happily wrapped up in the world of these fabulous, fragrant, early stewards of spring.

The witch hazel is a lovely, diminutive, cool-season blooming tree native to damp woodlands in eastern North America. Its fragrant, inch or two-wide flowers appear in February after the coldest days of winter are past. The petals are strap shaped and open on warm days, closing at night and on colder days. The flowers look like they are made from little curls of citrus peel-they would look really sweet on a cupcake.

Check out the gorgeous palette below!





Row 1: ‘Georges’, ‘Aurora’
Row 2: ‘Orange Peel’, ‘Rochester’
Row 3: ‘Rubin’, ‘Aphrodite’

Labels: witch hazel