Our recent snow in the Mid-Atlantic region fell wet and heavy on the branches, especially for those shrubs and trees that hold their leaves through the winter. White pine branches snapped, the southern magnolia boughs touched the ground and my favorite witch hazel bent from seven feet high to two feet.
(This photo is earlier, halfway through our accumulation.) I definitely knocked the snow from its dried leaves. And once it was off, found no branches had broken and some even bore a few flowers!
January isn’t quite the right time for the native witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, to bloom. Most drop their spidery yellow flowers in the fall, near Halloween, which makes the name witch hazel easy to remember. I’ve seen this 40-year-old shrub (planted when our development went in) bloom in February and March. Our recent warm weather probably triggered it – or maybe odd blooming times will be a thing now with climate change.
The Missouri Botanical Garden website has more on this unique native shrub. It’s one of my favorites because the blooms serve native bees and other pollinators when little else is blooming. And their look is magical!
Seeing the blooms reminded me of their photo I made into a nature quote years ago. I wanted to share it’s brightness on these short days of winter.
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