Hamamelis! - The Arboretum of Kalmthout / Belgium.

7 Feb '07 1:48 am

Yesterday it was chilly , misty, and damp. And I had a fixed appointement in the beautiful Flemish city of Anvers/Antwerpen, for a check up of one of the hearing-aids of my little Nicholas. The appointment was for 11am, so I had plenty of time to realize one of a ...life's dream : to visit the famous Arboretum of Kalmthout! And part of the dream was really colourful! Because the famous, stunning Hamamelis/Witch Hazels of the Arboretum were all in bloom!

And here I am, 70 klms away from Waterloo, my heart beatting madly with excitment, parking my car outside the main entrance of "my" Arboretum!! There is not sun, and still a lot of mist, at 12pm.. And my stomach has started...singing...Not many cars parked at the parking around me... I feel a childish happiness covering my body.. I am entering ... Lovely.. On my right a blooming Skimia.. How she looks happy and healthy.. Still on the right, a cafeteria ; well, a coffee and something light to eat would be great...On my left ...the nursery!! A nursery full of small and big Hamamelis - in bloom!!-- waiting to be adopted! Dear me! I want them ...ALL! ALL! But no, this is impossible ... Just three Hamamelis babies would do fine , according my pre-planned budget..I dash to the nursery. Three chosen babies : Hamamelis intermedia "Diane", brilliant rusty red! Hamamelis intermedia "Arnold Promise", golden yellow! Hamamelis intermedia "Westertebe", lemony yellow and curly.. I feel like,...dancing, but there are some sweet elderly people looking at me through the Cafeteria windows... I enter the Cafeteria smiling and saying "Hello" to everybody and order an apple-pie and a Capouchino coffe. I love it in here! It is so geniously decorated! But I am hurrying to go to the garden!

And I am IN the garden !! Wow! I see some Hellebores ! Lovely brilliant pink, and some light yellows! But no, I will take things one by one. I will divide my presentation in four parts :

1-- Arboretum , the introduction.

2-- Hamamelis close-ups.

3-- Hamamelis interacting in their natural garden.

4-- Some other lovely early bloomers in the Arboretum.

7 Feb '07 2:28 am

1-- Arboretum of Kalmthout , the Introduction :

And now , after my prementioned personal introduction , let's talk seriously about this treasure of a land, that now belongs to the Belgian State.

Kalmthout is a lovely Flemish village 20 klms northern of Anvers. The Arboretum was created in 1858 by the Horticulturist Charles Van Geert, who planted some wonderful exotic varieties of Conifers in it. These conifers were the main interest of the Arboretum at the time. Some other horticulturists succeeded Mr. Van Geert while the years were passing by , and during the two big Wars the garden was abandoned.

In 1952 the two Horticulturists George and Robert De Belder bought the land . Together with Robert's wife, the Agriculturist Mrs Jelena De Belder , they created the Arboretum of today, which is internationally known. Its curator, Mr. Abraham Ramelloo BNT, says, that " Since 2003 the Arboretum of Kalmthout is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for the genous of Hamamelis". Because today the Arboretum has not only exceptional exotic Conifers and other trees in it ; a lot of happy acid soil lover plants live here, in the sandy soil of the Arboretum, like Azaleas, Rhodondendrons, Hydranzeas, Camelias. A lot of exceptional perennials and other shrubs are so happily living here. But the Hamamelis are the ...Queens of this Garden!

Some very famous Horticulturists have also created here, like the Dutch Piet Oudolf.

7 Feb '07 2:45 am

2-- Hamamelis close-ups

7 Feb '07 2:59 am

3-- Hamamelis interacting in their natural garden

7 Feb '07 3:12 am

4-- Some other lovely early bloomers of the Arboretum

7 Feb '07 4:42 am

How wonderful, dear Liza! I really felt like I was exploring the arboretum with you! Your three new babies will, no doubt, have a happy and prosperous new life in Waterloo - I'd love to see some pics of them in your garden once they're planted. Smile

Thank you for taking me on this lovely tour.

Bambi
x

7 Feb '07 7:47 pm

Bambi, thank you so much for being and sharing with me in my recent botanical experience!

I think, we also have to share the information of Hamamelis cultivation . And I copy the information attached to the plants I bought :

" The Hamamelis/Witch Hazel is a deciduous ornamental shrub, which blooms before the leaves appear. The blooms are deliciously fragrant! It usually blooms during January and February, but if the Winter is mild, it may bloom earlier. The golden-yellow/red autumnal colour of the leaves adds to its ornamental value. The shrubs will flourish in a sunny or semi-shade spot, reaching a height of about 2-3 meters. They really start to grow after 2-3 years. They can be pruned in April or May, after they have flowered, but this is usually not necessary. Plant these shrubs in well-aerated, fertile, acid to neutral, well-drained soil."

7 Feb '07 10:30 pm

My dear Liza!

What a wonderful surprise, this post on your visit to Kalmthout. As you know it is one of the gardens I would most like to visit in all of Europe - and you get to see it with the Hamamelis in bloom Exclamation

I am filled with envy. But thank you for all the sharing, for I have seen more of Witch Hazels at their best from your posting than ever before. I must admit: Jelena - named after Jelena de Belder - is the one I would have picked first, for purely sentimental reasons; I have a connection with that lady I find hard to explain even to myself.

The Royal Horticultural Society's magazine 'The Garden' had a wonderful article on hamamelis recently ... I think December. Did you see it? Are you a member?

Your gorgeous first picture, with the winter sun streaming down onto the lawn, is now my desktop.

Thank you, dear Liza!

8 Feb '07 7:14 am

Thank you dear Liza for the enchanting tour. I enjoyed it while eating my lunch in front of the computer and felt, like Bambi, that I was sharing it with you. You also have me trying to think where in my garden can I plant some Hammamelis?! They are gorgeous. I feel like rushing off to a local nursery this afternoon to find some.

8 Feb '07 11:41 pm

How it is great feeling that you share my excitement , all of you, my dear ones! I longed so much to really be and share with you when I was there...But only me and two other women were strolling around with amazement... And, even more, I loved that I awakened a Hamamelis adoption drive in you!...But they ARE adorable these funny "haired" creatures, aren't they..

Faith and Jack, who knows , we could drive together up there sometime, no?

Jack, Jelena and Diane are my best loved Hamamelis! But, unfortunately, I found lots of baby Dianes at the nursery, but no Jelenas..

And YES! I am/have been a member of RHS! But I missed the last November-December issues, because I neglected to renew my membership at that time, due to certain family problems that were filling my poor head those days... I love GARDEN very much! The issue I enjoyed mostly last year was the one dedicated to "our" N. Zealand!! I was so proud, like a veritable N. Zealander!

Hamamelis! - The Arboretum of Kalmthout / Belgium.

Hamamelis! - The Arboretum of Kalmthout / Belgium.

Hamamelis/Witch Hazel Cultivation

Kalmthout!

Kalmthout Tour