Should you find that the ground beneath you is no longer sure, that the once stable path you were halfway down is now eroding before your eyes, or that you’re one step away from careening into the abyss, look to the witch hazel. Found on stream banks and hillsides, Hamemelis virginiana uses a suckering root system to thrive in places where the footing isn’t so guaranteed. The pictured specimen can be seen flourishing atop a plunging ditch along the climb to Mt. Gilboa; plant one at home anywhere your understory needs some shoring up.
American witch hazel defies the growing cold and darkness of autumn to be the last bloom of all the native trees and shrubs; its yellow beacons outlast even its own leaves to welcome hungry creatures running out of options. The pollinated flowers will bide the harsh months ahead in stasis until the climate is favorable again to progress into seeds — a slow but strategic way to survive.
