Witch Hazel

I have always found it peculiar that off at the far back end of this parking lot, a hundred feet away from the veiwers eye, is sited a collection of Witch Hazel (Hamamelis). Far from a conventional nursery plant, a unique find in a garden center, although certainly not unheard of. Nichey and collectable for enthusiests, only on rare occasion would it find a space for widespread landscape use. Here a banal location for such a precious plant. I may think this isn't the optimal space to highlight the fine qualities of the Hamamelis being so far from view. What makes the plant delightful to the collector, what creates its enthusiasms, are its up close delicacy; a flower not so much visually brilliant but a treat flowering in Novemeber, December, or Febuary and March depending on the species. Ferncroft and I may chase down a few branches together because of the subtleties to the brown skin of the branches or the clear architectural lines in its lateral branching connections. These small scale qualities show outstandingly in arrangements.
​This interests me as I believe it leans towards how "professionals" know their materials - as if knowing, like branch colorings and angles, has different ways of being. In my earlier times I used to attend several trade shows a year. There would always be a "plant expert" from a botanical garden, Cornell, or arboreteum on the schedule talking about "underused plants in the landscape." Witch Hazel would always be on the list. And the images that companioned their talks would all be up close.

A photo posted by F E R N C R O F T (@fern_croft) on Dec 7, 2016 at 10:47am PST