Back in early October we were exploring the edge of the creek on the land’s southern boundary.
The creek is lined with huge trees along the way and we have tended to look up at their amazing height. This tulip poplar below wins the prize for height for sure – that’s Mendy standing at the base!
On this particular walk however, my eye was drawn to a small understory tree with sweet yellow frills. Witch hazel! I’d never seen witch hazel in real life, only in photos and was totally delighted to find not one but about a half dozen lining the creek and blooming their hearts out in October. I love them all.
This discovery brought to mind an intention I’d set long ago when I lived just over the mountain from here. I’d decided to try to learn the name of every visible living thing on the land. That is a BIG project given this an extremely diverse ecosystems here in the highlands of the Southern Appalachians… My current home at Five Apple Farm is nearly five acres spread across at least as many types of landscape: lawn, field, upper creek, lower creek, hillside, forest (divided into east facing slope and west facing slope) and various shrubby fencerows. Yes, it’s a lifetime project and I’m excited to begin again. Soon I’ll start a page on this blog with a life list of living things spotted here!
So anyway, while looking up info on witch hazel, I stumbled across two wonderful blog posts at a favorite Tennessee blog called “Clay and Limestone.” Gail wrote a great post about this type of witch hazel here: http://goo.gl/mY8qdD Then, as is prone to happen when looking up one thing—found another post by Gail about the type of witch hazel that is fragrant and blooms in very late winter or very early spring, Hamamelis vernalis…which is native to my other homeground, the Ozarks! It took me about two seconds and I added it to my planting wish list. Very early spring is a critical time for pollinators and anything that provides the much needed nectar and pollen then is going to be of interest to me. If you read Gail’s post here http://goo.gl/EZU3Rs you’ll want one too!
—A Larrapin Garden…recently re-settled in the Blue Ridge of North Carolina. Leigh’s posts on this blog may be boom or bust depending on the season, but if you subscribe here you’ll get one weekly email—usually on Wednesdays—to let you know what’s new. You are also invited to get garden related miscellany at the Facebook page or on Twitter. The Pinterest boards (Pinterest should carry a habit-forming warning label by the way) are here. Happy digging!
4 Comments
Witch Hazel…the main ingredient in the product called”Tucks.” I see a whole new line of soothing balms in your future!
HAHA! You just never know what handy medicinals you’ll find right on the farm! Thanks so much for reading the blog and leaving a comment Sis!
Thank you so much Burnetta and thanks too for stopping by the blog. It makes me feel closer to my other home the Ozarks! 🙂
That tree must be about 100′ tall, isn’t it? The land looks beautiful out there and I am glad you guys are there to appreciate it; but, we miss you here in the Ozarks. What a great adventure you are having. Happy Thanksgiving.