Nearly a year already! and Hazel's name sake
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:12 am
Wow, hard to believe we're only a couple of weeks away from completing our first year as delica drivers! And what a great year it's been. Hazelnut was inspired to name the bus Hazel because the beautiful Witch Hazel (Hamamelis mollis "Pallida") was brightening up the winter garden with its unusual and sweetly fragrant flowers the day we drove her home. It's summer and fall foliage is lovely too. It's called "witch" because the twigs were (are) favoured for witching for water. One of our favourite plants.
The Pallida witch hazel is not an esp. fast grower and it doesn't get much over 3, maybe 4 meters tall. There are other varieties with different coloured flowers and even nicer fall leaf colour, but I've never seen another that rivals the intoxicating fragrance and beauty of those bright, sulphur yellow pallida flowers. I love contorted hazels too; another one of my favs. It's actually not related to the witch hazel, but rather is a Corylus avellana "Contorta" Back in the mid to late 1800's some time a hazelnut farmer (Harry Lauder?) found a bit of one of his hazelnut bushes was growing all curly and twisted. He took a cutting and all the plants you see now are descended from that cutting. Usually they are grafted onto a species, or standard hazelnut root stock and so vigilance is needed to remove all the straight sucker growth. I've seen some old plants that have completely reverted to the straight species. I love pruning them - getting all those twisty tangled branches and twigs to form a balanced structure is really fun. I'm always on the hunt for bits that are suitable for walking sticks or canes, but over the years have only ever found one good one. Anyway, thanks again for the good wishes!