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Shooting in the snow

Heroic winter horticulture

I’m off to the airport to fly back to England for the holidays in, what, two hours. But something in the garden has been bugging me and I just can’t leave without fixing it – even if it is 14F/-10C with an icy wind out there.
Hamamelis,witch hazel,old leaves. Image ©GardenPhotos.com
We have a witch hazel in the front, near the gate. One of the winter and spring flowering Asian types, Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’. It’s grown well, in just a few years it’s made more than 6ft/1.8m high and across with fragrant yellow spring flowers and buttery fall color. But. Once the fall color has faded to brown most of the leaves stay on! – especially those round the flower buds (above, click to enlarge). So in the spring, when the flowers open, most of them are hidden by that brown foliage.

So I’ve been cutting off the leaves, you can’t just pull them off as if you do then the flower buds come off too. So, one by one, with the pruners – off they’re snipped. Even in these freezing temperatures the buds are starting to show color so it needs doing now. When we come back it may be too late.

I’ve done about half, then I just had to come in for a break and write this. I’m going back out in a minute to finish off. Gulp. Then off to the airport.



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