Corylus Avellana 'Contorta'

Freezing fog and muffled sounds in the garden today. This gnarled and lively silhouette of the "corkscrew hazel" provides drama and interest, as well as fabulous twisted twigs for indoor flower arrangements. The misty, shrouded gloom provides the perfect atmosphere for its dark and tortuously twisted branches. Raindrops had collected in every nook and cranny and glistened along each stem. Soon the plump catkins will gently unfurl into long, wavy tassels. Who needs tree lights?

For interest, this intricate form of our native hazel appeared spontaneously in a Gloucestershire hedgerow in the early 1860s.
In the early years of the 20th century it acquired another name - Harry Lauder's Walking Stick - after the popular Scottish entertainer. I find it much more attractive in winter than in summer.