It is the third week of February and in adition to what is still growing in the cold frames there is a shrub already blossoming. Along with the red-winged blackbirds, robins and the yellowing of the goldfinches it is a surefire harbinger of spring.
Our Arnold Promise witch-hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) will bloom in late February to early March. This year it is a full week ahead of schedule most likely due to the warm winter. It lets us know that spring peepers will start in a couple weeks and it is time to think about getting peas in the ground.
Through the gray and somber wood
Against the dusk of fir and pine
Last of their floral sisterhood
The hazel’s yellow blossom shine-Excerpt from “Hazel Blossoms” by John Greenleaf Whittier (1874)
Right now it is blossoming through the few inches of snow we got lastnight.
In and around our garden and yard one of the most common shrubs is witch-hazel. The most common species is Eastern witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) or "common" witch hazel. Common witch-hazel typically blossoms in fall and we also have variety in the garden that blossoms in December.
Witch-hazel provides food for a variety of wildlife as well as a protected thicket for nest or roost.
This hungry Robin hatchling found shelter in a witch-hazel bushlast spring
Witch-hazel is everywhere in this part of Connecticut. Left alone it will grow into a tree. When the witch-hazel produces its spidery yellow flowers then last year’s seed pods snap open with a pop and can throw their seeds 40 feet!
Witch-hazel’s name has nothing to do with witches or hazels. It actually has more to do with the old Yankee practice of dowsing. The name ultimately derives from the Anglo-Saxon wych, meaning "bend" -- which is just what a divining rod is supposed to do when it detects water. But religious leaders had given dowsing such a bad name over the years that it was apparently easy to corrupt the name into "witch" (another name for divining is "water witching"). It is also not related to hazel trees.
Famous for its medicinal uses as a topical astringent the practice of steeping the twigs and leaves of the witch hazel plant originated with Connecticut’s Native American population. The bark and leaves are astringent; the extract, also referred to as witch hazel, is used medicinally. It was used for everything from after-shave to hemorrhoids to ladies beauty aids and was quite 
a popular magic potion at the turn of the century. Connecticut was home to the E.E. Dickinson & Co. and they provided over half the global supply of the popular elixir. The old Dickinson buildings are still found about 15 miles east of New Farm in Essex and they still harvest and distill the extract here in Connecticut.
a popular magic potion at the turn of the century. Connecticut was home to the E.E. Dickinson & Co. and they provided over half the global supply of the popular elixir. The old Dickinson buildings are still found about 15 miles east of New Farm in Essex and they still harvest and distill the extract here in Connecticut.
