Hamamelis - light in the darkness

When I had the front and side gardens cleared in September 2024 this opened up a lot of opportunities for me and the garden.  The front garden has been work in progress with lots of bulbs and several roses being added.  There is still space to be filled and I expect that to happen this year.  (Last year escaped me somehow....)

The side garden has been largely overtaken by verbascums which when they flower this year I expect to look rather wonderful.  I have planted a couple of things by the fence but otherwise I have done very little (did I mention last year escaped me somehow?)  One of the things I did do was plant a Hamamelis intermedia x 'Aphrodite' where the Rowan tree had been.  This space is plumb in front of the kitchen window and whilst I do not want the view blocking like the tree did, I did want something to look at.  Admittedly the hamamelis might grow to be about 12/13 feet tall but I can keep it pruned when it gets large.

I also have a thing about hamamelis.  There is just something about them that I love.  They have the wonderful shreddy flowers in the winter and also great scent.  I say great scent, I have to admit I can very rarely smell it.  I don't know if this is me, or I just pick varieties with weak scent.  Anyhoo, scent-disappointment aside I am a great fan of these shrubs.  They also have glorious autumn colour so I think they are very garden-worthy.

Anyhoo, I planted the hamamelis last spring and it had a few flowers on it, but I did not really expect too much from it this year.  I wondered if it would take a while to settle in.

This might not be the attractive of photos, but it is how the hamamelis looks in situ.  It was a cold dreary day after days and days of rain. The verbascums are soggy and tired and quite frankly questioning their life choices.  Yet there is the hamamelis, shining like a light in the darkness.  It is a delight.

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?

Take care and be kind.

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