Golden Spike Winter Hazel

Golden Spike Winter Hazel
Corylopsis spicata 'Golden Spring'
(kor-uh-LOP-sis) (spi-KAH-tuh)

This plant's fall color is amazing to me. It gets kind of a golden-pink hue to it and when the sun is shining on it the leaves really light up. It is a new cultivar of Corylopsis and it cost an arm and a leg. It gets up to 6 to 8 feet tall but mine is about a foot tall and had maybe 12 leaves this year. I may have missed the flowers this year if it had any as it blooms very early.

I had my camera at work the other day and snapped these pictures of this very nice Golden Barberry seedling. It is several years old now and I am debating if we should rip up the stones to transplant it to a better location. It truly grew in about a one-inch crack between the granite paving and the fieldstone wall. It really gets a great fall color and the summer color is bright, bright gold. I think it is worth saving. This year’s seedling roundup at the Estate produced a few nice items. Seedling day, and it is actually a couple of days, is where we go around and transplant all the plants that have seeded themselves. They have to be either out of place or something special to be moved. I got a couple of Viburnums, Dogwoods and Hydrangeas this year.



Here is a flower picture. This Korean Chrysanthemum is nice since it has some blush pink in the flowers. I notice that some of the white ones tend to turn a little pink when they have gone by but this one had the pink blush built in right from the start.

Narcissus 'Barrett Browning'

Narcissus 'Barrett Browning'
(nar-SIS-us)

This is a nice classic type of Daffodil. The Daffodils seem fine after that crazy winter we had, it seems to be one of their finer years. The tips of the foliage got singed by the cold but on most types this really doesn’t take away from the flowers. ‘Barrett Browning’ is just one of the hundreds of types of Daffs blooming right now at work. It classified as division 3, which are small-cupped daffodils of garden origin. See more about the classifications of Daffodils on this previous post .

I decided to take some Daffodil shots despite the fact the poor flower has been photographed practically to death. I tried a few abstracts with not much success. I have put myself on a bit of a picture diet. I am only allowing 48 pictures (I figure that is 2 rolls of film) per outing so I have try and make the abstracts count.



This other picture is from a shrub that I saw at the NYBG. I featured Buttercup Winterhazel (Corylopsis pauciflora) awhile back and that is a nice shrub it doesn’t, however, compare to the beauty of the Chinese Winter Hazel (Corylopsis sinensis). Maybe it was just the huge patch that was in flower that literally took my breath away as I rounded the corner at the end of the Daffodil and Daylily Walk. That has been the best thing I think I have seen all season.

Buttercup Winterhazel (Corylopsis pauciflora)

Buttercup Winterhazel
Corylopsis pauciflora
(kor-uh-LOP-sis) (PAW-ki-flor-uh)
Hamamelidaceae

Now is the time of the year that the Winter Hazel become a standout in the garden. It is one of the few things blooming around here. I have tried it a few times and met with less than success but I still enjoy seeing it, I may try again because its failure was probably my fault. Sometimes if a plant doesn’t work out I never try it again and that is not the best way to approach it. I think I end up missing out on some plants because I am wary of the results. This plant is a star performer early in the spring and then it fades into the background. It has a graceful shape that shouldn’t really pruned because then it starts growing at odd angles. Since it is such an early bloomer planting it in a sheltered location is probably a wise course of action. It can tolerate a light shade and looks good on the edge of the woods. I have seen it planted in masses and as a single specimen, both with good results. The drooping yellow flowers are fragrant. There are several other species that grow in the garden. In general I think you find this plant hard to locate and as I remember mine came from a mail-order catalog. Please don’t be turned off by my experiences it is a lovely shrub that is a great addition to the early spring garden.



This is almost a good picture but not quite. I am still trying to figure out exactly what I did to make the flower stand out in an abstract way. This is a shot that would have benefited from a tripod.