HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE!

Thank you for all the well wishes here, in texts and in my e-mails.  I am feeling almost back to normal after my short break. I love our blogging community for the kind and thoughtful people you are. I will be answering your comments and visiting your blogs over the next few days. I have missed doing that and look forward to catching up with you all.

It was good to get out today.  The temperature was 63 degrees, cloudy skies but perfect walking weather.  We drove to Meadowlark Gardens.  Our last visit was in September of last year.  I will be sharing more photos this coming week, but today I show one of favorites.  I was delighted to see the Witch Hazel blooming.

I have shared it before and may be repeating myself. The Haverford College website is a wealth of interesting information. Click here to read more.

"Witch hazel is a winter-blooming shrub. It can reach a height of 12 to 15 feet and is considered either a large shrub or a small tree.  It is a hardy perennial with fragrant, wispy yellow to orange flowers and are from the family Hamamelidaceae. 

Native to eastern North America, it may be found growing along woodland margins and stream banks from Canada to Mexico. The genus name Hamamelis comes from the Greek word hama for ‘at the same time’ and melon, which means fruit and refers to the fact that the plant can have both flowers and fruits appear at the same time, a somewhat rare feature. The species name virginiana means the plant is from Virginia.

 A year after blooming, the fruit capsules mature and eventually split open to release seeds.  Once dry, the witch hazel's capsules can catapult the small seeds as far as 30 feet.  This is the only tree in North America to have flowers, fruit and next year's leaf buds all at once. You will see it brightening up the forest throughout the autumn and the winter months, providing a source of food for birds, deer and other small mammals that eat its fruit capsules and seeds.

Witch hazel has a long history and has been used by people for centuries. Widely known for its medicinal and cosmetic uses, the extract from the leaves, bark and twigs of witch hazel have been used as an astringent to treat irritated skin and inflamed tissues for hundreds of years. Native Americans used the plant to treat the common cold, eye and liver conditions and other illnesses. Early settlers also used the leaves to make tea for various medicinal purposes. Today, witch hazel is used in a variety of products, including ointments, soaps and lotions. 

The name "witch hazel" also originates from folk history.  Natives and early settlers used the witch hazel to find sources of water underground.  As they walked over the ground that they were surveying, they would carry a forked or bent witch hazel branch, which was used as a divining road.  If the branch twisted or dipped, which they believed signaled that they had found water.  This practice was called "water-witching" and led to the plant's common name, witch hazel."