Two filberts

What a terrible crop!  Two filberts!  That's one-fourth of the crop harvested the year before.  American filbert is a much under appreciated and little planted shrub, and this should be corrected.  Two full grown filbert shrubs that top out a 8-10' tall occupy a space along a boundary fence in the space between our garage and a garden shed, a distance of some 15-20'.  They are a nearly trouble free privacy barrier with a handsome habit, and they grow well in the shade.  The pollen catkins are present for next season's early spring flowering.  Most people don't notice the female flowers at all.  All you see are the little red feathery stigmas of 2-4 flowers emerging from the bud scales.  The nuts are smaller than the cultivated filberts, but every bit as tasty. Unfortunately the squirrels like to jump the gun and they get eaten just before actual maturity.  Our harvest consists of the few nuts they miss.  Nonetheless the shrub is very worth planting.