Filed under: gardening, Nature | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, environment, flowers, gardening, gardening tips, Hamamelis, New York, plants, public garden, public gardens, Queens, trees, witch hazel
What is that stunning yellow thing in the Fragrance Garden?!
That’s a question all visitors to QBG have been asking, and the answer is none other than February’s favorite shrub, Hamamelis x intermedia, or hybrid witch hazel.
Witch hazel is an aesthetically funky plant and known for its winter interest. It’s a medium-sized shrub with wide-set branches and smooth gray bark. The habit is V- shaped, getting wider with age. Ridged leaves grow alternately on the branches – summer foliage is a soft medium green color, switching to vibrant orange in autumn. Witch hazel is great to look at even in winter when dusty red seed pods sprinkle the branches!
But what makes this plant stand out in the winter garden is the “big” show starting in late January until February, when the gorgeous bloomer opens up in flower – a sprinkling yellow, orange or red flowers all over the bare branches.
H. x intermedia is a cross between witch hazels native to Japan and China (Hamamelis japonica and Hamamelis mollis, respectively), both discovered in the late 19th century. The popular Hamemelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’ (on display in the Fragrance Garden) was bred at the Harvard University Arnold Arboretum in 1928, and released for sale in the early 60’s. It does best in slightly acidic soils with full sun, but can take part shade. Besides being fun to look at, witch hazels are also quite pest resistant, and don’t need much maintenance other than slight pruning.
North America boasts several common native species – H. virginia, H. vernalis, and H. ovalis – historically used in several medicinal treatments. Today, most people recognize the topical astringent, sold in pharmacies everywhere.
Medicinal uses aside, witch hazel is simply a beautiful shrub. It charming flowers will be with us only a couple more weeks, so come on down to QBG and enjoy!
–Written by Aly Fox, QBG intern
Filed under: family activities, gardening, MillionTrees NYC, Nature, Queens, Tree care | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, environment, family activities, gardening, MillionTreesNYC, NYC Civic Corps, public garden, public gardens, Queens, sustainability, trees
We’re so pleased to welcome Neil Barrett to QBG as our new Civic Corps member working on MillionTreesNYC. Neil offers us a glimpse into his backround below — or better yet, meet him in person at on our our MillionTreesNYC workshops!
Since arriving from Cornwall, England in October 2010, adapting to life in New York has required significant readjustment as I’ve looked to find both my feet and professional niche. However, when the opportunity to participate in the NYC Civic Corps program presented itself, I immediately recognized the potential of the program and grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Aside from helping to speed up my integration into my new home, the Civic Corps program – grounded as it is in public service – also allows me to interact and develop relationships with the residents of New York, many of whom I probably wouldn’t have otherwise met. I find this aspect of the program especially appealing as it enables me to interface with those who, like me, are seeking to reconcile their personal environmental values through social engagement and civic participation.
My academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in Business Information Systems from the University West of England, a Trinity College London, Cert. TESOL, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Decision Making from the UK’s Open University. While my academic goals are currently on hold, I plan to resume my studies upon completion of the Civic Corps program with a view to completing my Master’s degree in Urban Ecology. Additionally, my work with the Civic Corps program at with the Parks department at Central Forestry requires an understanding of urban forestry and, to develop my understanding of this area, I’ve am also studying to become ISA (International Society of Arborists) certified, something which I am sure will benefit my wider MillionTreesNYC community outreach work.
In the meantime, I remain both excited and committed to continuing and extending the outreach work of MillionTreesNYC. From my base at Queens Botanical Garden, my primary focus will be to extend the MillionTreesNYC message and help educate New Yorkers about the many benefits a healthy urban tree canopy can bring to the city. Additionally, my work will also involve hosting tree care workshops and teaching basic tree stewardship skills. Through this work, I hope to develop and sustain tree stewardship networks, so that individuals and groups can then share their skills and knowledge with others, so that New York’s street trees remain strong, healthy and prosper well into the future.
