Witch Hazel Relatives

This post will be part Philadelphia Flower Show and part not. I want to shlow you a couple of witch hazel relatives, and the native shrub.

I'll start with one from the Flower Show that I wasn't familiar with. This is Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena.' It's a cultivar with reddish flowers, but it's still recognizable as a witch hazel. It's the ragged pom-poms, not the maroon hellebore that is also in the picture.

But I learned something new this year. The very popular 'Mt. Airy' Fothergilla is a witch hazel relative. Fothergilla is a genus in the Family Hamamelidoideae, as is Hamamelis. Fothergilla bloom in the spring (witch hazel in the fall). The exact name of this cultivar is Fothergilla x intermedia 'Mount Airy.'

Here are the flowers a little closer. Mt. Airy has won the highest honor from the Royal Horticultural Society.

Just as a reminder, here is a native witch hazel. It grows as a small tree/large shrub with many stems in a copse. It has yellow flowers in fall. Here is one blooming locally in 2012.

I did pretty well with my work lists today, and had a meeting in the evening. The meeting involved a little walking, so I did get in a short COLD stroll!

Miles walked in 2026: 117.5
Mason County fairgrounds: 1.6 miles

See More Witch Hazel 2024

Philadelphia Flower Show- Miniatures II

The other half of the miniatures exhibit had the same main theme; "A Moment in Time," but these ones had to be a setting for an event somewhere in the world, 1900 to the present.

I thought that was somewhat interesting as the first group spaned 65 million years, and this group only 125. Ha!

There were two white ribbons. One went to the Blue Hen Besties with "Welcome, Class of 2029." (Blue Hens are the mascot for the University of Delaware). The intent said, "first step toward adulthood- freshmen move in at college."

The judges liked the plant material but thought the overall craftsmanship was poor.

It was arranged a bit oddly with the wall of the dorm coming right out to the plexiglas, and then the other portion was a dorm room. But the judges are right, the plants are nicely done but the modeling isn't.

The other white went to "Covid 19- the Alfresco Compromise," by a single individual. The intent said, "a Philadelphia restaurant transformed it's parking space into a restaurant with curated plant material."

The judges liked the idea and thought it was accurate, but said that several elements were out of scale.

The picture is pretty bad. I needed more time to gauge the scale of things, but it didn't really grab my attention, so there's that.

Yellow went to "First Flight," by a single individual. The intent says, "The Wright Brothers ready their fragile flyer."

The judges said that there was excellent attention to detail, but the plant material was overwhelmed.

I have to agree. And I would think there isn't nearly enough plant material for this kind of show.

There were also two red ribbons. One went to two individuals with "After They Read 'Silent Spring.'" The intent says "a group of cropdusting pilots repurposed their airstrip and are celebrating their first organic apple harvest."

The judges loved the theme but said the topiary myrtles did not accurately represent the apple tree form. True, that! And my reflection is terrible, but I think you can still see most of the display.

One other second place went to "Tear Down this Wall," by an individual. The intent says, "A crack splits the graffiti-covered Berlin Wall..." and a lot more.

The judges liked how dynamic this was, but said the pink plants in the front were too dominant.

My comment... Om has a lot of pictures of the Berlin Wall. It was way more stark than this with a barren zone on even the western side for security. But we all know that rewriting history is A-OK these days.

Blue ribbon! "An Unexpected Visitor" by two individuals. The setting is Roswell, NM. The intent says it, "blends rustic ranch life with eerie mystery."

Judges called it "whimsical," and said it "transcends the limitations of 'space.'"

Again, there are way too many reflections to see this very well. It's OK. Frankly none of the entries in this set really grabbed me. But this one has good scale, good color, and nothing in it screams that it's just wrong or out of proportion.

I worked on all my projects today and made progress. That's the best I can say. Shopping and errands too.

See PFS 2026- Miniatures I

Philadelphia Flower Show 2026 - Cool Colors

Cool and WET was what we had for weather here today. Lots and lots of rain. I hunkered down and got quite a lot done, even though it's never enough.

Anyway, here is the rest of the color wheel from the Philadelphia Flower Show.

For green, I chose this landscaped field from an exhibit by the Merchison Farm of New Jersey. Martha Brooks Hutcheson was one of the first female landscape architects, and she liked ecological plantings and traditional lines. The farm was her home.

This is part of an advertising display where the letters of the logo were filled with plant material. I think this is mostly dyed asparagus fern, so not exactly natural, but very, very blue! And very effective.

For something more natural, check out this lovely stone pathway lined with hyacinth.

Love this kale! It's Brassica oleracia 'Redbor.' I'd put this in my salad in a heartbeat, but I'd also love to look at it.

There are still lots of Flower Show pictures I can use to fill rainy days. There are several plants I want to share for sure. One is such a hot purple it couldn't really be included here. Stay tuned.

I have to do something besides sit in my chair for a while. My back gets sore!

See PFS 2026- Warm Colors

Philadelphia Flower Show 2026 - Miniatures I

You know I love the miniature entries in the Standard Flower Show at Philadelphia. But it's very hard to get good pictures through the plexiglas. And you can't take extra time to try to get a good shot because there is a long line to see them and you have to keep moving. Anyway...

This group is described as "A Moment in Time, a setting for an event somewhere in the world, prehistoric to 1900"

The white ribbon went to "The Dawn of Independence" by a high school. They said, "Step inside the room where it happened on July 4, 1776."

The judges liked the details but said the plant material obscured some of those details." I would add that there wasn't very much plant material.

There were two yellow ribbons. This one is "Memento Mori," by a father-daughter pair. "The eve of Pompeii's inescapable doom."

The judges said the background was expertly done but that there were too many components and it lacked focus.

The other yellow went to "The End of an Era," by a single individual. "During the late Cretaceous in a lush sub-tropical forest."

The judges liked the plant material but said the waterfall was poorly done."

There were also two red ribbons. One went to "Marco Polo's Silk Road Journey," by a single individual. "It's 1295. Marco Polo's caravan is returning to Vinice on the Silk Road from the court of Kubla Kahn."

The judges said the angled buildings created depth, but they didn't like the eagle (which isn't in the picture).

The other red went to "Sparks Fly in Ben Franklin's Garden," by two individuals. "A bright idea is aboout to strike, sparking a scientific revolution."

The judges really liked the lighting, but said the gazebo overwhelms the exhibit.

What you can't tell is that the daylight alternated with dark blue flashes like lightning. It was well done.

And the blue ribbon went to "Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibit Opening Day 1876," by two individuals. "The exotic plants, nourished by skillful cultivation inspire wonder and delight."

The judges said, "Exceptional plant material and exquisite craftmanship... Spectacular!"

I'm sharing two pictures of this one.

And it also had an upper level. There were 31 different species of plants used. Without a doubt, this one deserved first place.

I worked on all my projects today, had bell practice, and went to the grocery store. It rained hard outside with lights and booms!

See PFS 2026- Phoenix Rising

Philadelphia Flower Show 2026- Phoenix Rising.

I feel totally passive-agressive about this exhibit. It's one of the large ones, done by Laurel-Brook Gardens of Pennsylvania and Delaware.

The description talks about what can happen when nature regenerates after a fire.

I really, really loved the display- rustic, full of flowers in gleeful abandon. But this would really, really never happen without someone making it be so.

This angle shows some rusted farm machinery and the end of a bridge. Flowering cherry trees, redbud, daffodils and more are blooming.

Here's another beautiful angle with things that would never grow together.

Here's the other side of the path to the bridge. There is native wild black cherry, some dwarf crested iris (which you can't see clearly), balsam fir (although an ornamental variety) and daffodils which could conceivably have naturalized.

Now for some plant closeups. In this section there is the ornamental balsam, blue moss phlox, daffodils, and Mount Airy fothergilla (a garden cultivar of witch hazel). None are truly native.

Here is Dwarf Crested Iris which is native and grows wild some in Michigan but especially a bit to our south, so perectly suited for a Pennsylvania show. This is a high quality wild plant.

And last, this is is a Heuchera that I want. Technically Heuchera are native to North America, but they've been tinkered with so much that the cultivars aren't anything like the native plants. The variety is 'Topaz Jazz.' It's combined with a yellow yarrow (ornamental) and some yellow daffodils.

Here's what I find disturbing about this exhibit. It's not that they've combined all kinds of things that don't grow together or even that they've mixed ornamentals and natives. That's really standard procedure at the Flower Show. We want our fantasy plant fix!

What I object to is the implication in the description that this will happen all by itself if we'd just let the land heal. It's sort of "New Age" nonsense. I'm sure most of the people who visit have no idea this is nonsense, and I get that. I HOPE the exhibitors who appear to be garden professionals don't think this would happen.

My old farm machinery is surrounded by spotted knapweed, various uninteresting grasses, autumn olive and some ditch lilies. That's what has happened in about 60-70 years of letting the land go natural.

I worked on various projects today. Got a lot done. Way too much to do yet. I've been asked when I'll get back to Moose in Boots. I don't know. Many things much more pressing on my list right now.

See PFS 2026- American Landscapes

Philadelphia Flower Show 2026- American Landscape Showcase

I don't really understand this exhibit very well. Apparently it was to present a variety of typical American landscapes. There were four sections.

This part was created by a studio from California. The description used a lot of words to say very little, but here is part of it. "Land and human presence are inseparable- shaping each other in ways seen and unseen."

The best part of this section was a new-to-me, California-coastal plant called Blueblossom, Ceanothus thyrsiflorus, var. Griseus 'Yankee Point.' It has evergreen shiny leaves. Of course it also has thorns and grows to be a tree about 20 feet tall. But the Flower Show is as much about fantasy as anything.

Next was (Decay)dence from Design Under Sky in Rhode Island. I really don't understand this one at all. It also used a lot of words to say very little. The idea is that the roots of weeds break down other plants (which isn't even true, really) to recycle the nutrients. This is a look into the interior.

I didn't see anything in that whole section that was very interesting.

Third is The Ghost Forest by a studio in Maryland. This one is a hoot, but it was pretty. The description made sense anyway. It lamented the loss of the American Chestnut that left a void so we could contemplate loss and create a future woodland in partnership with the gardner.

Here is the void left by the chestnut.

Here's the hilarious part. If you look closely at what's in the void, it's mostly filled with acorns and magnolia pods with some pine cones. I will admit there were a few chestnut burrs (almost certainly not American Chestnut).

The best part of that section? That big globe in the first picture was actually lit with an orange light. From the other side it looked like a huge full moon!

The fourth section was called American Anemoia by a company from Iowa. Anemoia is a term coined by The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows website for "nostalgia for a time you've never known." It was attractive and humorous. The company that made the exhibit had a for sale sign with themselves as realtor on the lot that called it a "beautiful home and garden with native plants."

The best part of this one was an official notice on the fence from the city of Philadelphia citing the owner for having weeds and needing to mow.

Of the plants they used, I really liked the use of Andropogon virginicus, broomsedge bluestem. It grows around the Great Lakes, and it can look quite pretty in the fall. That said, not all the plants they used were native. Some were cultivars.

I'll have to feature a local clump of the Andropogon virginicus on the blog. I thought I had, but apparently not. It IS native.

I guess I'm getting too picky. I know that the Flower Show is about fantasy gardens and temporal beauty. But I sort of think that when places claim they are showcasing native plants that they should actually be doing that.

In other news: I edited hard and continued to work on a couple of projects.

See PFS 2026- Fare to Remember

Philadelphia Flower Show 2026 - A Fare to Remember

I feel much better today, I'd say at 80%. I had to take one nap, and I'm having trouble keeping food down, but I think that may be under control now. Yeah! So I have enough energy to do a more ambitious post about the Flower Show.

This is another of the Standard Flower Show contests. This was called "A Fare to Remember," and the description is "A functional design for a dining table or buffet based on a World's Fair.

Fourth place was "Liberty, Carried West." The intent (I'll share most of it for this one) says, "Liberty, carried west,... reinterprets the Liberty Float from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915, reflecting the bell's transfer from Philadelphia to San Francisco, symbolizing national unity and recovery following a 1906 earthquake." This was entered by an individual.

The judges said it was colorful, balanced, and artfully arranged. They took issue with the size of the centerpiece, noting that it made the table less than functional for dining which was part of the rules.

Yeah, that centerpiece is lovely but would be awkward at an actual dinner. I'm sure we've all been victims of the obstructing centerpiece.

Third place is "Tabletelling: A World's Fair Memory." The intent says, "Remembering the feeling after the 1964 New York World's Fair inside a warm, bright room... Mid-century lines and florals hold that bright space-age optimism." This was another entry from one or maybe two individuals.

The judges said, "The repetition of spirals and crossing angles bring to life the mid-century sense of space-age optimism." But they thought there were too many lucite containers with greens that interrupted the rhythm.

I guess I didn't catch all the lucite containers because there aren't many in the picture, and anyway, I think they echo the famous globe of the NY Fair which is pictured on the poster. You know I'm not a huge fan of orange, but I loved the use of color in this exhibit. It's just crackling with energy. If I'd done it, I might have tried to connect the elements more with lucite tubes and spheres- maybe along the edges. Yes, MORE spheres and angles!

And this is just glorious!

Second place went to the Chestnut Hills Garden Club with "Beneath Eiffel's Towering Marvel." The intent says, "On the longest summer day, Pierre awaits his intended at the Paris Exposition... the selected blooms... were chosen for their meaning in the language of flowers."

The judges said the arrangement was colorful, pristine and meaningful. "Pierre's intended will be swept away." They liked the textures, but thought the off-white hydrangeas detracted.

I guess I didn't like the hydrangeas either because I didn't include them in a picture! Haha. I thought the suggestion of the Eiffel Tower and outdoor dining was very well done.

The blue ribbon went to the Garden Club of Wilmington with "Blooms: Bridging Tradition into Future." The intent is "Inspired by memories of World's Fair Osaka 1970, a former visitor merges the minimalism of Japanese esthetics with Western convenience."

The judges said, "remarkable contrasting textural harmony... artful...supports the compelling narrative." They particularly liked the floral sushi.

Here's the sushi.

I particularly liked this decoration with the red-twig dogwood and the spiral wreath, except I wanted the twigs to be vertical.

So what do I think? Hmm. it's tough. I really thought the NY Fair with the orange and yellow was spectacular, and fit the era exceptionally well. I would have capitalized more on the spheres and angles as I mentioned. I really wasn't wowed by the Osaka one- there was nothing there that said "World's Fair;" it was a Japanese table anywhere, any time, but the floral sushi was cool, and they used a larger variety of plant materials (which wasn't mentioned by the judges, but I think it's a factor they consider.)

I did get to the grocery store and did some editing. Sorted mail and papers from while I was gone and answered a bunch of emails. Hopefully, tomorrow there will be no reasonable excuses for not getting a lot accomplished.

See PFS 2026- Begonias