In Praise of Witch-Hazel

Driving home from the library yesterday, I nearly swerved when I saw this beautiful witch-hazel. I crept past the house and stared at the tree. After passing, I continued towards home but was compelled to turn the corner, round the block and park. If the homeowners were looking out their windows I'm sure they were a bit concerned about the odd man walking around their tree and feeling its blossoms. I was too enamored with it's beauty to notice.

In late Spring I would likely have driven by without acknowledging it. That is the beauty of the witch-hazel. At a time when everything else is barren, when hydrangeas and crape myrtles are barely shuddering out of their winter slumber, witch-hazel is shining.

This ornamental witch-hazel, Hamamelis mollis, flowers in late Winter or early Spring, often the first blossom of the New Year. It's similar looking relative, Hamamelis virginiana, is native to the Eastern U.S. and flowers in the late Fall or early winter.

This past December I was hiking in the Shenandoah Valley and happened across a patch of native witch-hazel. Among a forest barren of leaves their fading golden blossoms were eerie and sad. Now, with the days growing longer and brighter those same blossoms look hopeful and rich, and make me grateful that Spring is nearly here.