Witch hazel

Today's the day ...................... to be late

I know, because I can look back at these things on blipfoto, that the witch hazel is very late in flowering this year.  Perhaps that really cold spell a few weeks ago set it back - or perhaps it didn't fancy opening up to all that rain?  But I checked on it today and there it was in all its glory.

It was introduced into English gardens by the Quaker botanist, Peter Collinson (1694 - 1768). He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, an avid gardener, and the middleman for an international exchange of scientific ideas in 18th century London. He is best known for his horticultural friendship with the American botanist, John Bartram, also a Quaker.

Bartram (1699 - 1777) was instrumental in sending seeds from the New World to European gardeners, including Peter Collinson - and many North American trees and flowers were first introduced into cultivation in Europe by this route...........