Here and there, the tip of an emergent snowdrop tries to force its way upward through the frozen earth, but other than these stalwarts and the evergreens, all seems dead and dreary. I am ready to retreat to the warmth and comfort of the welcoming hearth when I catch a whiff of sweetness that carries with it the promise of spring. In front of me appears a yellow mist. The witch hazels are not a large family, and perhaps this is one of the reasons for the clan's remarkable underuse in our landscapes. Native to North America and parts of Asia, the first member to come to prominence in the garden was the American variety Hamamelis virginiana , discovered growing wild in Eastern woodlands early in the 1700s.
Witch hazel remains an ingredient in many commercial cosmetic preparations today.
How the plant received its names, both the botanical and the vernacular, is something of a mystery. Hamamelis is thought to have been associated botanically with H. virginiana , the American or common witch hazel, because the plant carries its small seedlike fruit for 12 months, so that last year's crop appears together with the current year's flowers. None of these explanations seems to hold much water, if you'll pardon the pun, and it's quite likely that the truth behind the name, as with so many other plants, will remain buried in time. All rights reserved.