Hammamelis mollis, or Chinese Witch Hazel, in full bloom

I’ve spent pretty much the last two weeks chained to my computer writing proposals but I did get out to the Witt Winter Garden at the Arboretum for a walk with Jim Demetre last week. Along with writing about art, Jim is very knowledgeable about plants and the history of this area. We were at the garden between rain showers but the perfumes, although dampened by the weather, were still quite fragrant. The winter garden is such a respite of color and fragrance in these dark days. Jim is a charming and personable tour guide and we had a good time talking about gardening. I’ve killed many of the plants we talked about but, as he pointed out, you can’t garden without a few dead bodies.

our native vine maple

the luminscent bark of the chinese birch

I've forgotten the name of these trees. Any help out there?

Paper Birch--it really is all about sex for the trees, too