I really don't have the space for a witch hazel, but I had to plant at least one. Not for the garden, but for the house; I can't imagine getting through January without the pleasure of bringing branches of their spidery, fragrant flowers indoors.
The supremely fragrant yellow flowers of the Chinese witch hazels, like Hamamelis mollis 'Pallida' and H. x intermedia 'Arnold's Promise' show up best in the garden. While they disappear in the bare winter garden, the rusty orange flowers of H. x intermedia 'Diane' are stunning cut and brought into the house. 'Diane' has a Chinese parent, so is sweetly fragrant. In autumn, the foliage turns dramatic shades of orange and purple.
Right now 'Diane' is in full, glorious, coppery bloom. For an elegant arrangement, just stick a few branches in a sturdy vase...cut and enjoy....
If your witch hazel isn't large enough yet to cut whole branches, even a few twigs can make a lovely arrangement combined with a hellebore bud in a little crystal vase....
Hi Valerie- I received your new book for Christmas & I love it !!!! Great content and great pictures - I'm bursting with new ideas and itching to get into the dirt. Thanks for a great book.
Posted by: Kim | January 08, 2010 at 02:49 PM
Val - I too received your new book for Christmas, top of my wish list, really enjoying it. Loved your "A Pattern Garden" book too.
Ref Witch Hazel, do hummingbirds feed from them? I have a pair of Anna's attracted by my hardy fucia that flowered until late November. Since then I've put out hummingbird food but would like to plant winter bloomers to help sustain them. Any suggestions?
Posted by: Chris Morrell | January 13, 2010 at 01:36 PM
Hi Chris,
So glad you're enjoying the new book. I've never seen Anna's hummingbirds feed on witch hazels...any of the winter blooming mahonia, such as Mahonia 'Arthur Menzies' which blooms January into February, are beloved by hummingbirds. As the mahonias fade, our native currants (Ribes sanguineum) come into bloom to feed the hummingbirds...thanks for asking, I think I'll do a post on feeding native hummers over the winter...stay tuned...
Val
Posted by: valerie Easton | January 13, 2010 at 03:44 PM
Huh, I thought 'Diane' was more deeply red; I have one that looks like yours but thought it was 'Jelena.' But mine isn't too fragrant. Interesting. I never cut branches, I worry to hurt the tree since my clippers are always a bit on the rusty side... they do look good in your vase, though!
Posted by: Karen | January 29, 2010 at 10:23 PM
Omg! i really like your post so much,and this one is also beautiful perfect center piece. :)
zaijan
Posted by: philippines flower | February 16, 2010 at 05:12 PM
Lovely flowers! Wish I can also arrange beautiful flowers like that. I want to learn how to arrange flowers cause it so interesting. Anyway, I enjoyed reading this post. Thanks for sharing!
-pia-
Posted by: philippines flower | March 28, 2010 at 07:02 PM
Gorgeous work, thank you for sharing this method.
Posted by: Send Flowers to USA | July 13, 2010 at 09:56 PM
Nice idea! I never try to make a flower tissue before, Anyway, thanks for sharing this post. I've got an idea.
Posted by: Flower store in uk | July 21, 2010 at 12:53 AM