Hazelnut Blossom and Catkins

Here is my attempt to photograph the itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie "female" blossom of the Hazelnut. Fingers for scale.


(Click on images to enlarge)

And, on the same tree, some "male" catkins:



These early-blooming trees are designed for pollination by the wind, rather than the living pollinators we are all trying to save. For more information (and pictures) from someone who knows more about the subject than I do, go here.


Last year, my Hazelnut trees were successfully pollinated and started growing nuts. Around mid-September, I went out to check on their progress and found that every last nut had been stripped off the trees by some critter(s) — four-legged, two-winged; I don't know. The same thing will probably happen this year.